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A 

TREATISE 


MULBERRY    TREE 


SILKWORM. 

AND   ON   THE 

PRODUCTION  AND  MANUFACTURE   OF  SILK. 

EMBELIISHED  WITH  AFPHOPHI^TE  ENGRAVINGS. 

BY  JOHN  CLARKE, 

SOPEKINTENIIENT   OF   THE   MORODENDRON  SILK   COilPAXV   OF  PHILADELPHIA. 

SECOND     EDITION. 


Look  to  the  Silk  Culture  for  the  true  Gold  Mines  of  the  United  States,  leadit^ 
to  Independence,  Wealth,  and  Power. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
THOMAS,    COWPERTHWAIT   &   CO. 

253     MARKET     STREET. 

1839. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1839,  by 

John  Clarke, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


PRINTED   BY   T.  K.   AND  P.  G.  COLLNS. 

PHILADELPHIA. 


PREFACE. 


"  Not  to  know  what  occurred  before  one  was  bom,  is  to  be,"  said  an 
ancient  writer,  "  always  a  child."  Knowledge,  indeed,  is  that  to  which, 
as  a  means,  we  owe  our  all.  And  whatever  we  shall,  or  shall  not,  be  or 
possess  hereafter,  will  be  measured  by  knowledge,  or  the  want  of  it ;  or  by 
our  diligent  use  or  neglect  of  it.  Knowledge,  in  short,  should  be  hailed, 
invited,  as  our  best  friend  ;  whilst  its  reverse,  ignorance,  our  worst,  if  not 
our  only  enemy,  should  be  scouted,  were  it  possible,  from  the  very  face  of 
an  earth  tenanted  by  man,  by  all  that  aspire  to  the  dignity  of  the  intel- 
lectual character.  On  knowledge,  or  on  the  want  of  it,  how  often  has 
depended  whether  whole  nations  shall  be  civilized  or  uncivilized,  as  well 
as  learned  or  unlearned;  whether  whole  kingdoms  shall  slumber  for 
centuries  in  comparative  barbarism,  as  well  as  whether  the  myriads  of 
individuals  composing  them  shall  spend  their  existence  in  prosperity  and 
peace,  or  be  immured  in  wretchedness,  to  bequeath  it,  £is  an  entail,  to 
their  posterity  after  them. 

A  Providence,  kind  and  paternal,  however,  deserts  not  man,  unless  he 
neglect  himself.  The  inventive  faculfy  is  giyen  to  him.  "Necessity," 
it  is  commonly  said,  "  is  the  mother  of  invention ;"  but  with  all  deference 
to  her  maternal  powers,  it  may  be  added,  that  they  would  be  unproductive, 
were  it  not  for  the  astonishing  and  yet  undeveloped  powers  of  mind. 
The  history  of  mind,  could  it  be  well  composed — and  of  its  inventions 
and  discoveries,  for  five  thousand  years,  in  the  arts,  in  science,  in  manu- 
factures, in  implements,  in  machinery,  and  in  productions  of  every  kind, 
sweeping  in  its  universe  of  evolutions,  the  two  empires  of  material  and 
inmiaterial  being — would  present  at  once  the  most  interesting  and  im- 
portant detail  of  the  great  and  mystic  movements  of  what  the  same  Pro- 
vidence has  placed  here,  on  tliis  earth,  to  be  the  sovereign  of  matter. 
We  repeat  it,  Mind  is  the  sovereign  of  matter  !  Matter,  it  is  true,  in 
all  forms,  is  created  from  age  to  age,  ready  to  our  hands,  by  tlie  same 
Paternal  energy  ;  but  it  is  left  to  the  empire  of  instinct  and  reason,  or 
of  mind,  through  all  its  divisions  of  power,  to  move,  change,  transform, 
metamorphose  it  into  other  forms,  substances,  shapes,  and  modifications, 
so  dissimilar,  that  the  crude  ore  of  the  mountain  becomes  the  spangling 
specie  of  the  bank;  the  fieece  of  an  animal,  the  clothing  of  man;  the 
cotton  of  a  vegetable,  the  calico,  the  muslin  of  the  store  ;  and  the  leaf  of 
the  mulberry  tree,  the  velvet  cushion  of  th^  throne,  or  the  robes  that 
embellish  tjie  persons  of  emperors  and  of  queens. 


4S    1F^ 


4  PREFACE. 

Such  is  mind  !  It  reigns  supreme :  its  sway  "  there  is  none  to  dis- 
pufe."  On  the  throne  of  instinct,  reason,  it  sits:  it  waves  the  hand; 
onward  is  the  march,  the  great  triumphal  march  of  mind ;  and  imme- 
diately a  host  of  satellites — for  such  there  must  be  in  the  rear  of  every 
sovereign — are  in  motion ;  writers,  authors,  copyists,  compilers,  histo- 
rians, are  pushing  after  it,  in  the  orbit  of  intellect,  with  all  the  speed  and 
splendour  that  can  be  given  by  essays,  histories,  digests,  encyclopedias, 
periodicals  and  manuals ;  and  such  has  been  the  rapidity  of  late,  that 
even  the  press,  with  all  its  additional  powers  of  type  and  stereotype, 
travels  not  with  suificicnt  velocity,  unless  it  move  by  steam  !  What  is 
the  cause  of  all  this?  Mind,  the  sovereign  of  matter,  in  the  march  of 
intellect :  it  approaches,  probably,  the  perihelion :  onward  it  must  go,  and 
our  business  is  to  follow  ;  which,  if  we  do,  though  it  cannot,  will  not 
stop,  it  will  look  back  to  bless  us,  and  will  whisper  peace  and  prosperity 
to  us  as  a  nation,  and  to  each  of  us  as  individuals. 

Our  peace,  our  fortune,  or  our  happiness  is  made,  if  we  follow  Mind  ! 
How  is  this  to  be  done  1  History  presents  us  with  an  eminence,  on 
whose  height  we  view,  in  a  long  and  extended  vista,  a  series  of  inven- 
tions counted  by  the  thousand  years,  each  of  which  has  blessed  mankind. 
On  one  side  we  see  a  nation  deprived  of  their  benefit,  for  ages  slumber- 
ing in  obscurity,  in  barbarism,  and  in  wretchedness ;  there  another  that 
has  embraced  a  gift,  that  seems  to  have  dropped  from  the  skies,  whose 
history  demonstrates  to  the  world,  more  satisfactorily  than  the  problem 
which  cost  the  hecatomb,  that  "  knowledge  is  power ,"  to  which  we  add, 
that  knowledge  not  only  is  power,  hut,  knowledge  rightly  used,  is  wealth 
and  happiness. 

Knowledge  has  visited  the  American  people.  Volumes  arc  in  her 
hands ;  her  finger  first  points  to  this  page,  then  to  that.  Are  we  attentive  1 
On  this  page  we  see,  in  prominent  characters,  the  word  China/  and  in 
alto-relievo  the  word  Silk  !  and  by  attention  we  are  enabled  to  decipher 
the  words  "  China,  in  silk,  an  example  to  America."  We  pause  ;  we 
reflect :  in  these  words  we  see  a  volume ;  we  have  caught  the  idea !  that 
idea  is  a  world  !  And  a  volume  we  could  write,  and  a  new  world,  a  new 
era,  we  could  speak  of;  but  these  pages,  these  limits,  refuse  a  safety-valve 
to  the  engine,  to  thought ;  the  power  we  must  diminish,  and  reserve  for 
another  time.  Knowledge  perceives  that  the  subject  is  too  great  for  our 
utterance ;  she  waves  her  sceptre,  changes  the  page,  and  turns  to 
another,  on  the  head  of  which  we  distinctly  see  the  word  Cotton. 

Some  time  ago  we  visited  the  South,  and  lodged  in  this  hotel,  and 
then  in  that ;  hut  wherever  wc  abode,  no  word  heard  we  so  frequently 
as  the  word  "  Cotton  /"  Cotton  was  said,  and  cotton  was  responded, 
and  cotton  was  echoed ;  neither  did  we  understand  the  mysteries  of  echo 
until  we  understood  the  sympathies  of  cotton.  Not  being  gifted  with  a 
musical  ear,  we  were  perplexed  to  discover  the  melody  of  the  word 
cotton,  until  a  friend  kindly  hinted,  it  was  the  music  of  the  pocket ! 
The  secret  now  was  out,  the  enigma  solved ;  and  ever  since,  we  dis- 
tinctly perceived,  that  cotton  was  music  to  the  pockets  of  the  people  of 
the  South. 

Two  great  staples  of  the  United  States  of  North  America  are  now  in 
our  diorama — Cotton  and  Silk ,-  but  which  is  to  become  the  greater,  is 
the  (luestion.     No  less  true  is  it,  that  all  men  are  not  born  prophets, 


PREFACE,  5 

than  that  the  souls  of  all  men  are  not  integral  quantities ;  and  of  these, 
the  progenitors  it  was,  that,  sixty  years  ago,  laughed  at  cotton  becoming 
a  staple  of  this  country.  But  these  fractional  quantities  we  let  alone  : 
it  is  with  integral  characters  only  that  we  are  concerned ;  with  men 
capable  of  comprehending  distinctly,  not  merely  a  part,  but  a  whole 
subject.  And  these  are  they  who  proclaim  that  of  the  two,  cotton  or 
silk,  the  latter  eventually  is  to  become  the  greater,  the  more  important 
staple  of  this  country. 

It  is  easy  to  form  a  cursory  estimate  of  the  immense  benefit 
which  the  production  and  manufacture  of  cotton  and  its  fabrics  have 
been  to  tliis  country.  Great,  however,  as  this  is,  we  hesitate  not  to 
anticipate  that  silk  will  be — if  the  people,  the  government,  the  whole 
comiiiunivmlth,  only  evince  enterprise  and  zeal  commensurate  to  the 
object,  as  a  staple — not  inferior  to  cotton.  The  growth  of  the  latter 
article  is  confined  to  the  southern  states ;  whereas  every  state  of  the 
Union  is  eligible  for  the  production  of  silk.  For  silk  as  well  as  for 
cotton,  independently  of  our  own  consumption,  foreign  markets  are 
ready  to  afford  the  most  ample  encouragement.  Of  the  raw  material, 
France  is  under  the  necessitj'  of  importing  more  than  one-third  of  her 
vast  consumption  in  her  manufactures;  and  England  must  import 
every  ounce.  These  two  kingdoms  only  offer  a  market  to  the  value  of 
§40,000,000  annually.  We  shall  add  to  this  the  singular  consideration, 
that  for  years  past,  this  country  has  been  in  the  habit  of  importing  raw 
and  manufactured  silks,  at  the  rate  of  Sl'40  for  every  individual  in  its 
population,  which  evidently  implies  an  ulterior  amount  of  indefinite 
magnitude.  For  raw  and  manufactured  silks  upwards  of  §23,000,000 
were  sent  abroad  in  the  year  18  36  ;  equivalent  to  an  annual  drain  of 
specie  to  that  amount.  We  have  then  at  once  before  us  a  market  for 
eilk,  to  the  extent  of  $05,000,000  annually. 

China,  however,  which  may  afford  a  valuable  lesson  at  once  in 
politics  and  political  economy,  surpasses  this.  There,  every  artisan  is 
capacitated  and  encouraged  to  be  a  consumer  as  well  as  a  producer. 
Thus  her  home  trade  is  supported ;  and  it  is  thus  she  becomes  inde- 
pendent. Were  only  all  the  white  females  above  the  age  of  fifteen,  of 
the  United  States,  to  encourage  our  home  trade  to  the  extent  of  one  silk 
dress  annually,  it  would  produce  an  additional  market  of  the  annual 
amount  of  §66,150,000.  By  this  means,  or  by  others,  at  least,  added 
to  the  preceding  quotation  of  $65,000,000  annually,  we  see  no  limits 
necessarily  restraining  the  extent  of  the  silk  market  short  of  §100,000,000 
per  annum.  And  with  all  our  exertions,  it  will  be  years  before  this 
demand  is  satisfied,  and  the  check  given  to  the  serious  drain  of  specie 
out  of  the  country,  to  purchase  of  foreigners  what  we  can  produce  at  home. 

On  the  subject  of  specie,  banks,  hard  coin,  cash  payments,  mines,  and 
Mexico,  we  have  read  essays,  lectures,  pamphlets,  and  volumes,  without 
number.  But  how  much  more  simple  is  the  course  we  prescribe!  Only 
set  the  silk  worm  to  work  ;  stop  the  enormous  drain  of  specie  abroad,  by 
producing  all  at  home  ;  and  we  effect  at  once  more  than  all  the  mines, 
more  than  all  the  ponderous  tomes,  whether  extended  by  sheet  or  counted 
by  volume,  though  they  should  reach  from  pole  to  pole,  could  accomplish 
in  a  century.  The  next  lecture  we  intend  to  hear  on  the  mystery  of 
banking,  mines,  specie,  and  hard  cash,  shall  be  given  by  the  silk  worm. 

1* 


6  PREFACE. 

Only  proJucc,  and  hard  cash  will  come  as  surely  as  the  sun  will  cross 
the  equinoctial  twice  in  each  year. 

Individual  and  national  benefit  arc  evidently  here  combined.  But  in 
recommending  the  culture  of  silk,  there  is  another  feature  which  we 
scarcely  can  omit ;  i^  is  that  of  benevolence.  It  promises  good-will  to 
our  fellow-men,  from  one  end  of  the  nation  to  the  other.  To  the  benefit 
of  a  leaf-market  to  towns  and  densely  populated  cities,  we  have  in  the 
ensuing  work  briefly  adverted.  But  whether  silk  is  cultivated  in  the 
country  or  town,  the  same  beneficial  consequences  will  attend  it.  The 
process,  in  an  otherwise  unemployed  season  of  the  year,  may  be  con- 
ducted by  females,  children,  and  old  or  invalid  men,  unable  to  perform 
hard  labour;  and  therefore  to  them,  and  to  others,  especially  if  we 
include  the  more  extended  business  of  reeling,  it  will  be  a  new  means 
of  employment,  industry,  and  gain,  without  interference  with  other 
sources  of  income.  This  feature  alone,  were  there  no  other,  is  sufficient 
to  warrant  our  warm  advocacy  of  the  culture.  In  short,  on  this  as  well 
as  on  every  other  point  in  which  it  presents  itself  to  our  notice,  we  could 
expatiate  by  the  volume,  whilst  our  limits  restrict  us  to  the  line. 
Through  several  years  of  close  attention  to  this  subject,  we  have  long 
perceived  its  individual,  its  political,  its  national  importance ;  to  which 
the  numberless  volumes,  guides,  and  manuals,  already  existing  on  this 
topic,  we  have  at  the  same  time  been  deeply  sensible,  were  not  singly  at 
least,  commensurate,  nor  in  every  respect  suited  to  the  wants  and  exi- 
gencies of  the  young  and  comparatively  inexperienced  culturist.  This 
desideratum  we  have  endeavoured  to  supply,  not  only  from  our  own 
experience,  but  from  a  larger  collection  of  European  and  American 
works  on  the  culture  than  is  perhaps  possessed  by  any  other  individual 
in  the  United  States.  Our  work  is  now  before  the  tribmial  of  the 
public.  Of  its  comparative  merits  they  may  judge;  but  a  conviction 
of  our  motives,  and  endeavours  to  serve  all,  is  unalterably  fixed  in  our 
own  conscience ;  and  its  accomplishment  of  the  purpose,  in  any  degree, 
for  which  it  was  originally  intended,  is  all  the  praise,  if  any,  that  we 
shall  ever  desire.  To  extend  the  work  to  comprise  not  only  the  pro- 
duction, but  the  whole  of  the  manufacturing  processes  of  silk,  was  our 
intention  ;  but  the  numerous  volumes  we  have  since  received,  especially 
from  Europe,  and  the  large  amount  of  plates  relative  to  machinery,  an 
explanation,  at  least  to  do  justice  to  this  important  branch  of  national 
industry,  would  require,  convinced  us  of  the  impracticability  of  fulfilling 
our  original  design  short  of  the  limits  of  a  second  volume,  now  in  the 
course  of  preparation ;  and  for  its  completion  we,  very  respectfully,  at 
present,  beg  leave  to  retire. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 
CHAPTER  I. 


Page 

HlSTOKY   OF   THE    CdLTURE    AND    MANUFACTURE    OF    SiLK  -          13 

Preliminary  Remarks  on  the  Origin  of  the  Silk  Culture  in  China      ib. 

CHAPTER  II. 

History  of  Silk  to  the  Period  when  Silk  Worms  were  first 

INTRODUCED    into    EuEOPE                   -                       -                       -  -         31 

CHAPTER  III. 

Subsequent  History  of  Silk          -                -                -  -      49 

From  the  Period  when  Silk  Worms  tcere  first  introduced  into 

Europe,  continued  to  each  Nation  distinctly       -                -  ib. 

Arabs,  Tartars,  Turks              -                 -                 -  -       55 

Turkey  and  Persia           _                ■                _                -  56 

Hindoostan              -                -                -                -  -      58 

Egypt                .....  61 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Europe : — 

Naples,  Cala'bria,  Sicily           -                -                -  -      63 

Italy,  Venice,  and  Genoa                   -                -                -  64 

Spain,  Portugal,  and  the  Netherlands      -                -  -      66 

France              -                _                ...  69 

Other  States  of  Continental  Europe               -               -  -      74 

Switzerland     -               -                -               -               -  ib. 

Germany                   -                 -                .                 .  -       75 

Prussia              -                 -                ...  83 

Austria    -                -                -                -                -  .84 

Sweden              .....  85 

Russia      -                 -                 -                 .                 -  -      ib. 

England                  .....  86 

Ireland     -                -                -                -                -  -      90 

Statistics       .                -                ...  99 

Malta       -                 -                -                 -                 -  -     106 

St.  Helena         -                 -                 .                -                 .  i6. 

Isles  of  France        -                -                -                -  -      ib. 

Cuba                    .....  107 

Mexico     -                 -                 -                 -                -  -      ib. 

Lower  Canada                  ...                -  ib. 

North  America  : — 

Georgia                    -                -                -                -  .110 
South  Carolina                  -                -                -                .113 

Pennsylvania           -                -                -                -  -      ib. 
Connecticut                        -                 -                 .                 .117 

New  York                -                .                .                -  -     119 

Five  New  England  States                -                -                -  127 

Middle  States           -                -                -                -  -     130 

Southern  States                 ...                -  ib. 

V/estern  States        -               -               -               -  -     131 


o  CONTENTS. 

PART  II. 

ON  THE  MULUERUY  TREE. 
CHAPTER  I. 

Mulberry,  Genus,  Species,  Culture.  ^v 
Species  I. 

Moius  Nigra                -                -                -  -                -     136 
Species  II. 

Moius  Rubra        -                -                -                -  -            137 
Species  III. 

Bioussonetia  Papyrifcra              -                •  -                -     139 
Species  IV.  V. 

Moius  Tinctoria,  and  the  Morus  Indica               -  -            140 
Species  VI. 

Moius  Tartarica,  Constantinopolitana,  Broussa  -                -      ib. 
Species  VII. 

Morus  Alba           -                  .                  .                 _  _              141 
Varieties  of  the  Moius  Alba  : — 

Folio  Doppea  -----     142 

Folio  (iiazzolia    -----  i6. 
Sub-varlrties  : — 

Fcuille  Rose             -                 -                 -  -                 -     143 

La  Feuille  Doree              -                 -                 -  -               ib. 

La  Reine  Batarde    -                -                -  -                -      ib. 

Femelle            -                 -                -                -  -              ib. 

La  Reine                 -                -                -  -                -      ib. 

La  Grosse  Reine               _                 _                -  -               /ft. 

La  Feuille  d'Espagne               _                 -  -                 -       ih. 

La  Feuille  de  Floes           -                 -                -  -               ib. 
Moi'us  Alba  Rosea       -----     144 

Ovalifolia          -                 -                -  -               ib. 

Maciopiiylla             -                -  -                -       ib, 

Oblongifolia      -                  -                  -  -              I45 

Iiitcgrifolia       -                 -                 -  -               ib. 

Integrifolia  Obscura                _  _                -      ib. 

• Semilobata       -                 -                 -  -               ib. 

Lobata     -                 -                 -  -                -       ib. 

Lanciiiiata        -                 -                 .  -               ib. 

La  Colombassette    -                -  -                -     146 

La  Rose            -                -                _  -              ib. 

— — La  Colombasse  Veite               _  _                -      ib. 

La  Rabalayre,  or  Traineuse              -  -               ib. 

La  Poumaou,  or  la  Pomme     -  -                -      ib. 

La  Meyne         -                 -                 -  .             147 

L'Amella,  or  L'Amande          -  _                -      ib. 

La  Foicade,  or  la  Fourche               -  -              ib. 

La  Dure  -                 -                 -  -                 -       ib. 

L'Admirable    -                 -                 -  -               ib. 

Morus  Lucida  -----     150 

CHAPTER  n. 
On  the  Culture  of  Species,  or  Kinds  capable  of  Reproduction 

rRom  Seed. 
--  Climate,  Soil,  Situation,  Seed, Seedlings,  Nurseries,  Engrafting,  &c. 
Transplanting,  Standards,  Plantations,  Instruments. 

Climate       -               -               -               -  -         "     _     151 


CONTENTS.  9 

Page 

Situation  and  Shelter                 -               -  -                    152 

Preparation  of  the  Ground                  -                _  _            153 

To  obtain  the  Seed      -               -               -  -               -      ib. 

To  prepare  the  Seed             -                ■                _  ^6. 

Mode  of  testing  the  Quality  of  Seed            -  -               -     155 

Time  of  sowing  -----  156 
Manner  of  solving       -----     157 

Subsequent  Culture  of  the  Seed-beds  and  Seedlings  -            158 

Sowing  by  the  whole  Fruit          -                 -  -                 _     159 

Solving  broad-cast               -                -                -  -            160 

Transplanting             -                 -                 -  -                -161 

By  the  Seed-bed               -                .                -  _              ib. 

—  the  Nursery       -                -                -  -            "-162 

—  Mulberry  Hedge         -                -                -  -            163 

—  the  Dwarf  Orchard             -                -  -                -     164 

—  Hedge  Plantations      -                -                -  _            170 

First  Plan                -                -  -                -     171 

Second  Plan    -                -                -  -            173 

—  Plantation  Standards          -                -  -                -     174 

Grafting  and  Budding        -                -                _  _            177 
Pruning     ------     178 

Suckers                -                -                -                -  -              ib. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Morus  Multicaulis,  its  Description  and  Statistics  -     180 

CHAPTER  IV. 

On  the  Culture  of  the  Morus  Multicaulis  -                -     190 

Cultivation          -----  193 

By  Cuttings;  Method  1.          -                _  _                -      ib. 

—  do.            do.     2.                   -                _  _            195 

—  Layers;         do.      3.          -                -  -                -     197 

—  do.            do.     4.                   -                _  -              ib. 
Substitutes  for  the  Mulberry  Tree              -  _                -     193 

Madura  Auruntiaca,  or  Osage  Orange            -  -             .ib. 

Scorzonera,  or  Viper  Grass      -                -  -                -     199 

Tragopogan  porrifolium,  or  Salsafy                   -  -               ib. 

Lacluca  Sativa,  or  Garden  Lettuce          -  _                 -       ib. 

The  Willow  Tree,  Rose  Tree,  &c,                   -  -              ib. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Leaves:  Trees  or  Leaves  selling  or  renting:  Leaf  Market: 
Statistics. 

1.  Analysis  of  the  Mulberry  Tree                   -  _                -    2OO 

2.  State  of  Leaves  proper  for  feeding     -                -  -            202 

3.  Preserving  Leaves      -----     203 

4.  Mode  of  gathering  the  Leaves             -                 ■  -             204 

5.  Repeated  Defoliations                  -                 -  _                 -     205 

1st  Method,  or  by  the  green  Leaf  -                -  -            207 

2d      do.        or  by  the  dry  Leaf              -  _                -      ib. 

3d       do.        or  by  Leaf-powder       -                 -  -              ib. 

Renting  of  Trees,  or  selling  of  Leaves          _  -                -    208 

Leaf-market             -                 -                 -                 .  -             213 

Statistics  relative  to  the  Mulberry  Tree        -  -                -    214 

Product  of  the  White  Mulberry           -                 _  -            217 

Product  of  the  Morus  Multicaulis               .  -                -    219 

Tabular  Statistics                 -                -                -  -            222 


10  CONTENTS. 

PART  III. 

ON  THE  SILK  WORM. 

CHAPTER  I.  ftgB 

On  the  Silk  Worji  ;  Genus,  Species,  Varieties  -                -    224 

Order,  Lepidoptei'a                   -                -                -  -              ib. 

Genus,  Bombyx           -                 -                 -  -                 -       ih. 

Species,  Mori    -                -                -                -  -              ib. 

Larva — Pupa,  Nymph,  Aurelia,  or  Chrysalis  -                -    225 

Caterpillar  of  four  IVIuullings  -                 -                 -  -             230 

1.  three  Rloultiiigs        .                 -  -                 -       ib. 

2.  Large  Silk  Worms  of  four  Moultings                  -  -               ib. 

3.  Silk  Worms  that  produce  white  Silk         -  -                -    231 

4.  The  dark-coloured  Silk  Worm           -                -  -              ib. 

5.  Silk  Worms  of  eight  Crops  -  -  -  -  232 
C.  Mammoth  White  _  ■  -  _  ib. 
Varieties : — 

1.  The  Pennsj'lvania  Silk  Worm                -  .                _      ih. 

2.  The  Virginia                 do.                  _                .  _            233 

3.  The  Tusseh  or  Bughy  do.       -                -  -                -      ib. 

4.  The  Arrindy                do.                 -                _  >            234 

5.  The  Jarroo                     do.       -                 -  -                 -       ib. 

6.  The  Emperor  Moth         -                -                _  _              ib. 

7.  The  Bombyx  Chrysorrhoea     -                -  -                 -       ib. 
S,  9.  Tsouen-kien,  or  Lyan-kien         -                _  _            235 

10.  The  Social  Silk-nest  Spinner               -  -                -      ib, 

11,  12.  The  Wild  Figara,  and  Oak  Silk  Worm  of  China    -  ib. 
Substitutes : — 

Spiders' Silk                -                -                -  -                -    236 

Pinna  Silk           .               -               .               _  _           237 

CHAPTER  II. 

Cocoonery:  Eggs:  Hatching. 

Cocoonery       ---.__    239 

Eggs  of  the  Silk  Worm           -                -                _  _            245 

Preservation  and  Treatment  of  Eggs            -  -                -      ib. 

Hatching                 -                -                _                .  _            247 

Diseases          -               -                -                -  -                -251 

1.  Diseases  from  Defect  in  the  Eggs   -                -  .            252 

2. bad  Air  of  the  District  in  which  Silk  Worms 

are  raised      -                 -  _                .     253 

3. Impurity  in  the  Air  in  the  Cocoonery      -  254 

4.  want  of  Room  ...     256 

5. the  (juality  or  quantity  of  Food  -             257 

6. improper  Change  of  Food  -                 -       ib. 

7. a  peculiar  Constitution  of  the  Air  -             258 

8. sudden  Changes  of  Temperature  -                -    259 

Particular  Diseases: —       -                -                _  _              ib. 

1.  The  Pass  is              -                -                .  _                _    260 

2.  The  Grasseric                  .                 -                 -  _               ib. 

3.  The  Lusctte,  Causes  and  Remedy           -  -                -    261 

4.  The  Yellows,  Symptoms ;  Causes  ;  Remedy  -  -              ib, 

5.  The  Mmcardine,  Symptoms  ;  Causes    -  -                -    262 

6.  Tlie  Tripes,  Symptoms  ;  Cause  ;  Remedies    -  -            263 
-    Enemies  to  Silk  Worms                ....    264 

Statistics,  relative  to  Silk  Worms'  Eggs         -  -            265 
,  Space     -                -                -  _                -    278 


CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER  III.  rage 

The  Rearing  of  Silk  Worms,  from  the  first  Appearance  of 


THE  Larva  unto  the  Chrysalis,  or  Cocoon 

. 

-    280 

1st  Age                -                -                - 

. 

- 

291 

2d  Age        . 

- 

- 

-      ib. 

3d  Age                 .                .                - 

- 

- 

ib. 

4th  Age       -                -                . 

- 

- 

-    292 

5th  Age                 _                 -                 - 

- 

- 

ib. 

Rearing  of  th^  Worms. 

1st  Age : — First  Day  - 

- 

- 

-    294 

Second  Day- 

- 

- 

295 

Third  Day 

- 

- 

-      ib. 

Fourth  Day 

- 

- 

29G 

Fifth  Day 

- 

- 

-      ib. 

General  Remarks  on  the  First  Age    - 

a 

- 

297 

2d^§-e;  — Sixth  Day 

. 

. 

-    299 

Seventh  Day 

- 

- 

300 

Eighth  Day 

- 

- 

-       ib. 

Ninth  Day 

- 

- 

ib. 

General  Remarks  on  the  Second  Age 

. 

- 

-    301 

3d  Age : —  Tenth  I)3.y 

- 

- 

ib. 

Eleventh  Day 

- 

- 

-     302 

Twelfth  Day     - 

- 

- 

ib. 

Thirteenth  Day 

- 

- 

-      ib. 

Fourteenth  Day 

- 

- 

303 

Fifteenth  Day 

- 

- 

-      ib. 

General  Remarks  on  the  Third  Age   - 

_ 

- 

ib. 

4th  Age  .— 

. 

. 

-     304 

Sixteenth  Day    - 

- 

- 

305 

Seventeenth  Day       -  J 

- 

- 

-     306 

Eighteenth  Day 

. 

- 

ib. 

Nineteenth  Day 

- 

. 

-      ib. 

Twentieth  Day 

. 

- 

ib. 

Twenty-first  Day     - 

- 

- 

.      ib. 

Twenty-second  Day 

- 

- 

ib. 

General  Remarks  on  the  Fourth  Age 

- 

- 

-    307 

5th  Age.— 

- 

■       - 

ib. 

Twenty- third  Day    - 

- 

- 

-     309 

Twenty-fourth  Day 

- 

- 

310 

Twenty-fifth  Day     - 

- 

- 

-      ib. 

Twent3-sixth  Day 

- 

- 

ib. 

Twenty-seventh  Day 

- 

- 

-    311 

Twenty-eighth  Day 

- 

- 

ib. 

Twenty-ninth  Day  - 

- 

- 

.      ib. 

Thirtieth  Day    - 

- 

- 

ib. 

Thirty-first  Day 

- 

- 

-     312 

General  Remarks  on  the  Fifth  Age    - 

. 

- 

ib. 

Thirty-second  Day    - 

- 

. 

-      ib. 

Spinning  Cocoons 

- 

- 

314 

6th  Age,  Commencing  the  Pupa  State 

- 

- 

-    315 

Gathering  the  Cocoons  for  Seed 

- 

- 

ib. 

Preservation  of  Cocoons  intended  for  Eggs 

. 

-     316 

Daily  Loss  in  Weight  of  Cocoons     - 

- 

- 

317 

'7th  Age,  The  entire  Life  of  the  Moth 

. 

. 

-     318 

Separation  of  the  Moths  and  laying  of  Eggs 

. 

- 

319 

Preservation  of  Eggs 

. 

. 

-      320 

Stifling  the  Chrysalides                -      - 

- 

- 

321 

12  CONTENTS. 

PART  IV. 

REELING :  THROWSTING :  DYEING  :  STATISTICS. 
CHAPTER  I. 


Reeling  :  Description  of  Cocoons 

- 

- 

- 

323 

1.  Good  Cocoons 

_ 

_ 

. 

ib. 

2.  Pointed  Cocoons 

- 

, 

- 

- 

ib. 

3.  Cocalons 

. 

- 

. 

ib. 

4.  Bupions,  or  Double  Cocoons 

_ 

. 

- 

ib. 

5.  Soufflons 

. 

. 

- 

ib. 

6.  Perforated  Cocoons    - 

- 

m 

- 

ib. 

7.  Good  Choquettes 

- 

- 

- 

ib. 

8.  Bad  Choquettes 

. 

- 

- 

324 

9.  Calcined  Cocoons 

- 

_ 

_ 

ib. 

The  relative  Value  of  Cocoons 

. 

- 

- 

ib. 

PiEDMONTESE  Reel,  Description  of 

- 

. 

. 

325 

Filature       -                -                - 

. 

_ 

. 

326 

Disbanding  the  Silk  from  the  Reel 

- 

. 

- 

332 

Throwsting  :    Singles,  Organzine,  Tram, 

Sewing  Silk, 

Cordon- 

net,  Filoselle 

- 

. 

. 

333 

Machinery 

- 

- 

- 

334 

CHAPTER  II. 

Dyeing. 

To  cleanse  and  ungum  Silk 

- 

. 

. 

342 

White  Silk,  or  boiling  to  be  dyed 

. 

. 

- 

343 

Sulphuring     -                 -                 - 

- 

- 

. 

ib. 

To  boil  Silks  which  are  to  be  dyed 

- 

. 

. 

ib. 

Aluming         -                -                - 

m 

. 

. 

ib. 

The  Indigo  Tvb 

. 

- 

. 

344 

Crimson,  several  Receipts 

• 

- 

344, 

352. 

,353 

Green       -                -                - 

- 

. 

345, 

355. 

,357 

Lilac               .                _                ■ 

. 

. 

. 

345 

Violet,  with  Logwood,  Brazil  Wood, 

Archil 

- 

. 

346 

Violet  Blue     -                -                - 

. 

. 

. 

356 

Yellow,  of  various  Shades 

. 

346, 

349, 

,350, 

351, 

,354 

Poppy              .                 _                 _ 

- 

- 

- 

347 

Black       ... 

- 

. 

. 

lb. 

Blue,  dark       -                -                - 

_ 

. 

34S. 

,356 

Blue,  Turkish 

. 

. 

. 

35L 

,355 

Blue,  (ultramarine) 

- 

. 

> 

356 

Buff 

- 

- 

. 

351 

Pink,  real      -               .               - 

. 

. 

_ 

ib. 

Red,  deep 

- 

. 

352. 

,353, 

,357 

Brown,  real    -                -                - 

. 

. 

353 

Nankeen  -                -                - 

. 

_ 

- 

355 

Conclusion         -               -               - 

. 

. 

. 

358 

Statistics  -                -                - 

. 

. 

. 

359 

,  Feeding 

- 

. 

. 

361 

A  TREATISE 

ON  THE   MULBERRY  TREE,  &c. 


PART  I. 

H  STORY    OF    THE    CULTURE    AND    MANUFACTURE 
OF    SILK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY    REMARKS    ON    THE    ORIGIN    OF    SILK    CULTURE 
IX    CHINA. 

How  frequently  do  we  find  that  the  highest  eleva- 
tion in  character,  in  the  wealth  and  independence  of 
individuals  or  nations,  arises  from  some  small  and 
apparently  insignificant  origin.  The  silk  worm,  the 
cocoon,  the  raw  material  that  gives  lucrative  employ- 
ment to  myriads,  mills,  looms,  machinery,  filatures, 
factories,  the  busy  merchant,  the  crowded  warehouse, 
the  loaded  ship,  transporting  the  rich  damask,  the 
thick  velvet,  the  stiff"  brocade,  the  thin  gauze  and 
delicate  blonde,  fabrics  valuable  as  silver,  or  more 
valuable  than  mines  of  precious  metals  to  nations, 
proceed  from,  or  are  set  in  motion,  by  what  ?  By 
the  eggs  of  an  insect ;  eggs  so  small  that  threescore 
scarcely  weigh  one  grain  !  ! 

It  is  no  less  singular  than  true,  that  light,  know- 
ledge, the  arts  and  sciences,  literature,  and  even  the 
gospel  itself,  pursue,  in  their  respective  movements, 
a  course  similar  to  that  of  the  sun.     They  rise  in  the 

2  13 

fROPERTT  I ' 


1*  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

east,  and  move  towards  the  west.  Thus  onward 
may  they  go  till  they  encompass  the  earth,  not  only 
with  a  zone,  but  with  zones  of  light  more  numerous 
than  the  belts  of  Jupiter  or  the  rings  of  Saturn,  dis- 
pelling all  the  proceeds  of  darkness,  misunderstand- 
ing, and  animosity,  and  binding  man  to  man,  nation 
to  nation,  and  hemisphere  to  hemisphere,  in  one 
grand  circle  of  reciprocity  and  fellow  interest,  and  in 
all  the  amenities  of  fraternal  benevolence. 

In  our  search  for  the  distant  origin  of  any  art  or 
science,  or  in  looking  through  the  long  vista  of  ages 
remote  even  to  nations  extinct  before  our  own,  we 
are  favoured  with  satisfactory  evidence  so  long  as 
we  are  accompanied  with  authentic  records:  beyond, 
all  is  dark,  obscure,  tradition,  fable.  On  such  ground 
it  would  be  credulous  or  rash  in  the  extreme  to  re- 
peat, as  our  own,  an  affirmation,  when  that  rests  on 
the  single  testimony  of  one  party  or  interest,  espe- 
cially when  that  is  of  a  very  questionable  character. 

It  is  even  more  safe,  wh-en  history  or  well  authen- 
ticated records  fail  us,  to  appeal  to  philosophy,  or  to 
the  well  known  laws  of  mind,  from  which  all  arts 
and  science  spring.  The  former  favours  us  with  the 
commanding  evidence  of  certainty  and  decision  ;  and 
though  the  latter  may  only  afford  the  testimony  of 
analogy,  yet  is  its  probability  more  safe,  at  least,  than 
what  rests  on  misguided  calculations  or  on  the  legend- 
ary tales  of  artifice  and  fiction. 

Whilst  the  natural  svm  that  shines  on  this  earth 
diffuses  his  rays  equally,  and  illuminates  a  whole 
hemisphere  at  once,  how  different  is  it  in  reference 
to  tlie  intellectual  sun.  Here  we  see  the  latter 
steadily  maintaining  his  immovable  meridian  over 
some  favoured  portion,  some  central  region  of  the 
earth,  even  for  ages,  until  the  derivative,  not  the 
primitive  rays,  are  transmitted  to  every  cardinal 
point  of  the  civilized  nations.  And  after  first  com- 
municating, by  the  latter,  the  inventive  power  to 
man,  like  a  pillar  of  light  gradually  wending  its  way 
from  east  to  west;   or,  forming  a  zone,  of  which 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  15 

whilst  one  extremity  has  not  yet  left  the  east,  now 
bending  over  the  Atlantic,  the  other  is  already  illu- 
minating the  shores  of  the  western  world. 

After  this  view  of  the  subject,  there  will  be  the 
less  difficulty  in  arranging  all  the  families  of  the  earth 
into  two  divisions,  strongly  distinguished  from  each 
other.  The  one,  that  which  has  signalized  itself  by 
the  possession  and  exercise  of  the  inventive  talent ; 
a  faculty  in  common  with  every  other  of  excellence, 
originally  proceeding  from  Him  who  is  the  only  giver 
of  mind  and  its  every  attribute.*  In  striking  contrast 
to  this  is  that  division  which  comprises  those  nations 
that,  instead  of  the  inventive,  have,  from  time  imme- 
morial, only  evinced  the  imitative  faculty.  The  deri- 
vative, not  the  primitive,  rays  have  reached  them. 
They  may  be  in  possession  of  many  of  the  arts,  and 
some  of  the  sciences,  but  together  with  these  they 
give  full  proof  that  they  originated  not  with  them. 
They  know  precisely  what  their  fathers  knew.  In 
present  emergencies,  they  refer  to  the  precedent  of 
their  ancestors,  rather  than  to  the  varying  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  Their  dress,  their  manners,  their 
habits,  their  customs,  their  festivals,  their  gods,  their 
temples,  their  superstition,  their  pagodas,  in  routine 
and  fashion,  are  the  same  they  were  centuries  ago. 
Improvements  in  the  arts,  or  new  discoveries  in 
science  they  know  not.  And  all  these  are  so  many 
collateral  proofs,  and  afford  strong  presumptive  testi- 
mony, that  whatever  arts,  or  whatever  of  science  they 
inherit,  they  are  the  bequest  of  antecedent  proprietors.! 

*  As  a  proof  that  the  inventive  faculty,  as  to  every  thing  truly  useful 
to  man,  originally  proceeded  from  tht  only  "  Giver  of  every  good  and 
perfect  gift"  consult  Isa.  xxviii.  24  to  29 :  and  also  a  beautiful  com- 
ment by  Dr.  A.  Clarke  on,  "  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  all  that  are  wise 
hea.rted,  ivhom  I  have  Ji//cd  with  the  spirit  of  wisdom."  Exod.  xxviii. 
3  :  and  also  on,  "  I  have  filled  him  with  the  spirit  of  God  in  wisdom,  and 
in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of  workman- 
ship ;  to  devise  cunning  works,  to  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in 
brass  ;  and  in  cutting  of  stones,  to  set  them,  and  in  carving  of  timber, 
to  work  in  all  manner  of  curious  workmanship."  Exod.  xxxi.  3, 4,  and  .5. 

•j-  "  The  stationary  condition  of  the  arts  and  sciences  in  China,"  says 
a  late  writer,  "  proves  that  lh(;y  have  not  originated  with  that  people  : 


16  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

Frequent  examples  are  found  where  the  pohty  of  a 
whole  nation,  of  a  whole  empire,  or  even  of  a  whole 
church,  is  to  chain  down  the  mind  not  merely  of  an  in- 
dividual, hut  of  whole  communities  in  all  thinking,say- 
ing,  doing,  to  the  formularies  of  antiquated  precedent. 
Wherever  this  is  the  case,  the  mind  becomes  habitu- 
ally inert ;  it  is  circumscribed  on  every  side  by  the 
moss-grown  barriers  of  patriarchal  times,  beyond 
which  it  never  dares  to  pass,  and  never  knows  either 
the  joy  or  the  fame  of  an  Archimedes  when  he  ex- 
claimed Eu^mu,  a/g»)ta,  I huve  found  it !  I  have  found  it  ! 
No  facts  are  of  greater  notoriety  than  those  that 
give  new  and  varied  proofs  every  day,  that  ambition 
is  a  vice  too  generally  prevalent  in  nations  much 
more  civilized  than  the  Chinese.  But  that  furtive 
species  of  it  that  induces  an  individual  or  a  nation  to 
claim  this  discovery  or  that  invention,  whilst  it  is  the 
property  of  another,  is,  however  dishonourable,  too 
frequently  practised.  If  a  single  discovery,  invention, 
or  art,  is  sufficient  to  produce  this  temptation,  how 

and  many  peculiarities  of  the  manners,  institutions,  and  popular  religion 
of  the  Chinese,  have  a  near  affinity  to  those  of  the  Hindoos.  We  have 
remarked  the  ignorance  of  the  Chinese  in  rnaihematics  and  astronomy. 
Of  physics  they  have  no  acquaintance  beyond  the  knowledge  of  appa- 
rent facts.  They  never  ascend  to  principles,  nor  form  theories.  Their 
knowledge  of  medicine  is  extremely  limited,  and  blended  with  the  most 
contemptible  superstition.  Of  anatoniy  they  know  next  to  nothing ; 
and  in  surgery,  they  have  never  ventured  to  amputate  a  limb,  nor  to 
reduce  a  fracture.  The  Chinese  are  said  to  have  manufactured  glass 
2000  years  ago,  yet  at  this  day  it  is  inferior  in  transparency  to  the 
European,  and  is  not  used  in  their  windows.  They  are  reported  to 
have  known  gunpowder  from  time  immemorial,  but  they  never  employed 
it  in  artillery  or  fire  arms,  till  they  were  taught  by  the  Europeans. 
When  first  shown  the  use  of  the  compass  in  sailing,  they  affirmed  that 
they  were  well  acquainted  with  it,  biU  found  no  occasion  to  employ 
it  /"  If  they  are  indeed  conversant  with  navigation,  let  them  prove  it, 
by  sending  a  vessel,  navigated  by  a  Chinese  captain,  here.  "  The  art  of 
painting  in  China  is  mere  mechanical  itnitcition,  without  grace,  expres- 
sion, or  even  accuracy  of  proportions :  of  the  rules  of  perspective  they 
have  not  the  smallest  idea.  In  sculpture,  as  in  the  figure  of  their  idols, 
the  Chinese  seem  to  delight  in  distortion.  The  knowledge  they  have 
seems  to  have  been  imixjrled,  and  not  of  original  gi'owth,  for  it  has  never 
been  progressive."  See  also  M.  Uailly's  'I'heory  of  the  Origin  of  the 
Sciences  among  the  Nations  of  India, 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  17 

much  stronger  must  this  be,  when  it  refers  to  a  whole 
circle  of  such  discoveries  or  arts,  on  which  the  aggran- 
dizement and  independence  of  an  empire  is  supposed 
to  depend  ?  What  a  necessary  part  of  the  policy  of 
such  a  commonwealth  must  it  be,  to  adopt  every 
manoeuvre  to  preserve  concealment,  or  to  shroud  the 
whole  in  the  distant  mists  of  extreme  and  visionary 
antiquity.  What  motives  have  the  Chinese  had,  in 
which  they  have  had  no  parallel  amongst  any  other 
people,  to  isolate  themselves,  from  the  earliest  times, 
from  the  scrutiny  of  other  nations;  to  burn,  in  the 
reign  of  Tchehoam-ti,  all  their  historical  writings,  to 
bury  alive  their  learned  men,  to  destroy  effectually 
the  dates  and  records  of  past  events,  and  to  sanction 
the  Jesuits  in  the  calculation  of  eclipses,  to  the  know- 
ledge of  which  the  Chinese  pretend,  but  could  never 
use  or  exemplify,  except  when  surreptitiously  ob- 
tained, for  the  purposes  of  subtlety  and  deception. 

The  advocates  for  the  extreme  antiquity  of  the 
Chinese,  assert  that  their  empire  has  subsisted  above 
4000  years,  and  appeal,  as  a  proof,  to  a  series  of 
eclipses  marking  contemporary  events,  calculated  for 
2155  years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  present 
Chinese  have  no  such  knowledge  of  the  motions  of 
the  celestial  bodies  as  to  enable  them  to  calculate 
eclipses.  They  can  no  more  calculate  one  eclipse, 
past  or  future,  much  less  a  series,  than  they  can 
navigate  a  ship  from  Canton  to  Acapulco.  But 
the  Jesuits  who  presided  there  in  the  tribunal  of 
mathematics,  for  more  than  200  years,  calculated  for 
them,  these  eclipses,  in  order  to  ingratiate  themselves 
with  the  emperors,  and  to  flatter  Chinese  vanity. 
And  if  they  could  have  done  this,  still  it  proves 
nothing.  It  is  easy  to  calculate  eclipses  backwards 
from  the  present  to  any  period,  and  thus  to  give  to 
any  fictitious  portion  of  history  its  chronology  of  real 
eclipses.  But  no  valid  conclusion  can  result  from  this, 
unless  it  were  likewise  proved  that  all  those  eclipses 
were  not  only  actually  recorded  at  the  time  when 

they  happened^  but  also  in  reference  to  some  historic 

2* 


18  HISTORY    or    SILK. 

event.  But  this  neither  has  nor  can  be  done  ;  for  it 
is  an  allowed  fact,  that  there  are  no  authentic  Chinese 
records  beyond  the  third  centiny  prior  to  the  Chris- 
tian era.  Hence,  there  is  no  argument ;  and  the 
futiUty  of  such  an  artifice  is  too  self-evident  to  have 
demanded  the  able  pen  of  so  eminent  an  astronomer 
as  La  Place**  to  expose  the  chicanery  of  such  a  sub- 
terfuge.! 

We  have,  however,  authentic  testimony  that  the 
inventive  faculty  existed  at  a  very  early  period. 
The  peculiar  condition  of  man  at  that  time  must 
have  afforded  many  imperative  occasions  for  its  ex- 
ertion. Hence  we  read  that  "  JabalJ  was  the  father 
of  such  as  dwell  in  tents,"  (mt'en/or  of  tent-making;) 
that "' Jubal,  his  brother,  was  the  father,"  {inventor) 

*  See  La  Place  on  the  subject. 

•|"  Neither  is  it  always  considered,  in  referring  to  any  distant  period, 
especially  as  to  remote  nations,  or  prior  to  the  time  of  Sosigenes,  what 
we  are  to  understand  by  the  word  year.  The  solar  year  is  36.5  days, 
5  hours,  48  minutes,  51  "6  seconds  precisely,  and  no  other  computation, 
whether  what  is  called  the  Julian  year  of  365  days  6  hours,  or  what  is 
commonly,  but  erroneously  quoted  as  a  tropical  revolution,  365  days 
5  hours  48  minutes  and  45  seconds,  will  correspond  to  solar  time, 
without  periodic  corrections,  such  as  the  intei'calation  of  a  day  every 
leap  year,  and  the  omission  of  three  days  every  400  years,  according  to 
the  edict  of  Gregory  XIII :  and  even  then  there  will  be  an  error  of 
5  hours  and  40  minutes  every  1000  years.  If  then,  we,  the  moderns, 
find  such  difBculty  in  keeping  pace  with  the  sun,  what  did  the  ancients 
do  1  The  very  circumstance  of  our  present  years  commencing  on  tlie 
1st  of  January,  instead  of  at  the  winter  solstice,  is  a  proof  of  their  pre- 
dilection for  lunar  instead  of  solar  time.  For  the  new  moon  happening 
8  days  after  the  solstice,  when  Caesar  first  adopted  the  Julian  computa- 
tion, the  year  was  made  to  connnence  on  that  day  instead  of  when  the 
sun  entered  Capricorn.  Before  this  the  year  amongst  all  nations  was 
lunar,  containing  precisely  so  many  moons,  moonf/is,  or  months,  each 
beginning  on  the  day  of  the  new  moon,  though  they  consisted  of  a 
dilferent  number  of  days.  The  Hebrew  and  Greek  year  contained  354 
days ;  that  of  Numa  Pompilius,  355,  and  the  year  of  Romulus  com- 
prised only  304  days.  The  very  terms  expressive  of  time,  as  calendar 
from  K'JiKto)  to  call,  or  from  the  calling  together  of  the  people  on  the 
first  day  of  the  new  moon,-  or  annus,  hukm;,  Sec.  from  which  we  have 
annual,  cycle,  &c.  being  ambiguous,  and  signifying  a  circle  as  well  as 
time,  have  occasioned  some  to  suspect  that  anciently,  especially  amongst 
remote  nations,  these  circles  were  the  less  and  not  the  greater,  and 
therefore  lunar,  and  absolutely  moonths,  not  years. 

+  Gen.  iv.  20. 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  19 

of  musical  instruments :  such  as  tiie  kitinor,  harp,  or 
stringed  instruments,  and  the  iigab,  organ,  or  wind 
instruments  ;  that  "  Tubal-cain  was  the  instructor  of 
every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron,"  the  first  smith  on 
record,  or  one  to  teach  how  to  make  instruments  and 
utensils  out  of  brass  and  iron ;  and  that  the  sister  of 
Tubal-cain*  was  Naamah,  whom  the  Targum  of 
Jonathan  ben  Uzziel  affirms  to  have  been  the  inven- 
trix  of  plaintive  or  elegiac  poetry.  Here  is  then  an 
account  of  the  inventive  faculty  being  in  exercise 
3504  years  before  the  Christian  era ;  or  1156  years 
prior  to  the  deluge ;  or  804  years  before  the  earliest 
period  assigned  to  the  Chinese  for  the  discovery  of 
silk.  And  of  whatever  arts  or  sciences  existing 
amongst  men  prior  to  the  deluge,  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  conceiving  the  possibility  of  the  transmission 
of  the  leading  and  most  essential  parts,  at  least,  to 
the  post-dikivians,  by  the  family  of  Noah. 

But  instead  of  giving  our  unqualified  assent  to 
what  has  been  servilely  copied  from  book  to  book 
from  the  most  accessible  account,  we  shall  advert  to 
the  great  discrepancy  relative  to  Chinese  chronology, 
amongst  those  who  have  had  equal  access  to  their 
records.  Thus  the  time  of  Fohi,  the  first  emperor, 
has  been  said  to  be  2951  b.  c.  by  some  219S  b.  c, 
and  by  others  2057,  or  about  300  years  after  the 
deluge:  of  Hoang-ti,  2700  b.  c,  by  Mailla  it  is  quoted 
at  2602  B.  c,  by  Le  Sage  at  2597  b.  c,  and  by  Robin- 
son and  others  at  1703  b.  c.  Similar  disagreements 
might,  would  our  limits  allow,  be  observed  concerning 


*  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  M.  de  Lavaiir  in  his  Conference  de  la 
Fabk  avec  VHlstoire  8ainte  supposes  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
took  their  smith-god  Vulcan  from  Tubal-cain.  Tubal-cahi  is,  indeed, 
easily  convertible  into  Vul-can,  who  was  also  an  artificer,  a  master 
smith  in  brass  and  iron.  Now  if  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  through 
that  change  of  letters,  syllables,  or  sounds,  which  one  language  is  liable 
to  suffer  in  its  transit  to  another,  and  through  the  obscuritj-  of  tradition, 
could  so  easily  mistake  one  sound  or  name  for  another,  or  substitute  a 
fictitious  for  a  real  character ;  it  becomes  a  matter  of  still  greater  pro- 
babiUty  that  similar  substitutions  may  be  found,  especially  in  that  part 
nf  Chinese  history  which  Ls  extremely  remote  and  fabulous. 


80  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

the  rest,  and  particularly  of  the  emperors,  Hiao-wen- 
ti,  Chim-ti,  Ming-ti,  Youen-ti,  Wen-ti,  Wou-ti,  and 
Hiao-wou-ti.  Even  in  more  modern  times,  and  rela- 
tive to  a  character  so  notorious  as  Confucius,  no  less 
than  three  dates  are  equally  affirmed  to  be  true.  As 
to  Hoang-ti,  who  is  said  to  have  begun  the  culture 
of  silk,  we  are  inclined  to  prefer  the  latter  account, 
1703  B.  c,  which  makes  him  contemporary  with 
Joseph,  when  prime  minister  over  the  land  of  Egypt. 

As  a  confirmation  of  this,  it  may  be  stated,  that 
by  referring  to  the  account  given  of  nine"*  of  the 
patriarchs  at  this  period,  we  shall  find  that  the  aver- 
age age  of  man  was  then  186  years;  and  that  the 
duration  of  human  life,  before  much  greater,  soon 
after  rapidly  declined.  Now  the  average  duration 
of  the  reigns  of  the  first  threet  Chinese  emperors, 
including  Hoang-ti  was  118  years;  of  the  five  that 
immediately  succeeded,  only  68  years.  After  this, 
until  the  Christian  era,  the  average  duration  of  a 
single  reign  of  the  Chinese  emperors  did  not  exceed 
23  years,  and  thence  until  the  present  time  not  13 
years.  Since,  therefore,  the  average  duration  of  the 
reign  of  the  first  three  emperors  bears  an  evident  and 
fit  proportion  to  that  of  the  age  of  man  at  the  period 
specified,  though  not  at  any  other  before  or  after, 
being  in  the  former  case  as  much  too  small  as  it 
would  in  the  latter  be  too  great,  the  opinion  we  have 
offered  is  the  only  one  that  can  be  consistent  with 
these  striking  facts  ;  and,  if  duly  considered,  presents 
an  argument  strongly  corroborating  the  view  we 
have  taken  of  the  subject. 

The  attempt  to  establish  any  greater  certainty,  in 
a  case  of  this  nature,  the  Chinese  during  the  dynasty 
of  Tschin,  having,  to  conceal  the  truth,  destroyed 
every  thing  authentic,  would  be  in  vain.  It  would 
be  even  more  rational  to  have  recourse  to  the  Vedas, 
or  sacred  books  of  the  Brahmins,  or  to  records  in  the 

•  Peleg,  Reu,  Serug,  Nahor,  Terah,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and 
Joseph :  Gen,  xi,  16  to  26 ;  xlvii.  28 ;  and  1.  26. 
f  Fohi,  Eohi  Xinum,  and  Hoang-ti. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  21 

ancient  Sanscrit,  were  it  not  a  well  known  fact,  that 
nearly  all  ancient  nations,  except  the  Jews,  actuated 
by  the  same  ambiiion,  have  betrayed  a  wish  to  have 
their  origin  traced  as  far  back  as  the  creation.  And 
in  the  gratification  of  this  passion  none  are  so  noto- 
riously pre-eminent  as  the  Egyptians,  Hindoos,  and 
Chinese.  For  them  the  limits  of  the  creation  itself 
have  been  too  narrow,  and  days,  weeks,  and  even 
months  too  short,  unless  multiplied  into  years.* 

Whenever  authentic  records  fail,  fable  or  hypothe- 
sis alone  can  supply  the  place.  The  former  can  only 
amuse  us  with  a  whole  host  of  gods,  demi-gods, 
satyrs,  nymphs,  and  heroes.  As  to  the  latter,  our 
only  alternative  is  to  select  the  one  that  has  the 
strongest  presumptive  testimony  in  its  favour. 

The  strong  resemblance,  in  several  respects,  be- 
tween the  Chinese  and  the  ancient  Egyptians,  has 
almost  irresistibly  given  rise  to  the  conjecture  that 
originally  they  were  the  same  people.  M.  de  Mairau 
informs  us,  that  the  Egyptians  and  Chuiese  were 
strikingly  similar  in  the  following  points :  the  same 
permanency  of  manners,  abhorrence  of  innovation, 
aversion  to  war,  a  superficial  knowledge  of  the  arts 
and  sciences  without  the  ability  to  make  improve- 
ments or  discoveries ;  and,  in  more  remote  times,  the 
use  of  hieroglyphics.  A  festival  of  the  Egyptians 
called  the  feast  of  the  tights,  corresponds  to  that  of 
the  Chinese,  tlie  feast  of  the  lanterns  :  the  features 
of  the  Chinese  resemble  the  ancient  Egyptian  statues; 
and  certain  characters  engraven  on  an  Egyptian 
bust  of  Isis  were  found  to  belong  to  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage. 

"  If  we  find,"  says  M.  Bailly,  "  in  the  scattered 
huts  of  peasants,  fragments  interspersed  of  sculptured 
columns,  we  conclude  with  certainty  that  they  are 
not  the  work  of  the  rude  peasants  who  reared  those 
huts,  but  that  they  are  the  remains  of  a  magnificent 
building,  the  work  of  able  architects,  though  we  dis- 

*  See  Dr.  A.  Clarke's  remarks  :  end  of  Gen. 


22  HISTORY   OP    SILK. 

cover  no  other  traces  of  the  existence  of  that  building, 
and  cannot  ascertain  where  was  its  precise  situation." 
From  this  argument,  and  a  comparison  of  the  man- 
ners, customs,  opinions,  and  attainments  of  the  In- 
dians, Persians,  Chinese,  Chaldeans,  and  Egyp- 
tians, and  a  discovery  of  many  circumstances  of 
similarity  between  all  those  nations,  M.  Bailly  comes 
to  the  singular  conclusion,  that  the  knowledge  com- 
mon to  all  has  been  derived  from  the  same  original 
source,  a  most  ancient  and  highly  cultivated  people 
of  Asia,  of  which  every  trace  is  new  extinct.* 


*  "  The  sciences  and  arts  of  the  Chinese  have  been  stationary  for  2000 
years.  The  Chaldeans  were  a  comparatively  enlightened  people  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Babylonish  empire,  or  so  early  as  1900  a.  m. 
We  find,  soon  afterwards,  that  they  were  astronomers,  and  understood 
the  revolutions  of  the  celestial  bodies.  The  Chaldeans  probably  pro- 
ceeded from  this  ancient  people.  In  the  leading  and  more  essential 
points  of  theology,  the  belief  of  the  Brahmins  is  the  same  as  was  that 
of  the  Chaldeans,  though  subsequently  intermingled  with  many  ab- 
surdities, the  result  of  their  superstition  and  ignorance.  The  elegant 
and  copious  language,  the  Sanscrit,  the  source  of  all  Indian  knowledge, 
has  been  now  a  dead  language  for  more  than  2000  years,  and  is  intelli- 
gible only  to  a  few  of  the  Brahmins.  It  was  probably  the  language  of 
that  great  and  ancient  people. 

"  The  custom  of  libations  and  religious  ablutions  was  common  to  the 
Tartars,  Chinese,  and  Hindoos,  as  well  as  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
All  the  Asiatic  nations  had  festivals  of  the  nature  of  the  Roman  saturn- 
alia. The  tradition  of  the  deluge  is  diftused  among  all  those  nations ; 
and  that  of  the  giants  attacking  heaven,  (tower  of  Babel)  is  equally 
general.  The  doctrine  of  the  metempsychosis  was  common  to  the 
Eiryptians,  Greeks,  Indians,  Persians,  Tartarians,  and  Chinese.  A 
conformity  in  a  true  doctrine  is  no  proof  of  iniitunl  communication  or 
concert ;  hut  it  is  ingeniously  remarked,  that  a  conformity  in  a  false 
doctrine  comes  very  near  to  such  a  pro(f." 

"The  Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Indians,  Persians,  and  Chinese,  all 
placed  their  temples  fronting  the  east.  All  these  nations  had  a  cycle 
or  period  of  60  years  for  regulating  their  chronology.  They  all  divided 
the  circle  into  300  degrees ;  the  zodiac  into  12  signs,  and  the  week  into 
7  days.  The  Chinese,  Indians,  and  Egyptians  distinguished  the  seven 
days  of  the  week  by  the  names  of  the  seven  planets  ranged  in  the  same 
order.  The  long  measures  of  the  ancient  nations  had  all  one  common 
origin." 

"  These  singular  coincidences,"  says  M.  Bailly,  "  can  be  explained 
only  upon  one  or  the  other  of  the  following  three  suppositions:  1st, 
that  there  was  a  free  connnunication  between  all  those  ancient  nations ; 
2ndly,  that  those  circumstances  of  coincidence  are  so  founded  in  human 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  23 

From  the  Egyptians,  it  is  well  known,  that  the 
Greeks,  those  venerable  models  of  fine  taste,  of  the 
arts  and  sciences,  received  the  first  rudiments  of  their 
knowledge.  And  M.  de  Gnignes  of  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  and  Belles  Lettres  in  France,  has  present- 
ed strong  presumptive  testimony  that  the  Chinese, 
(he  might  probably  have  added  the  Hindoos,)  were 
originally  an  Egyptian  colony.  He  has  discovered 
the  very  remarkable  fact,  that  the  first  Chinese 
sovereigns  were  precisely  the  same,  as  those  of 
Thebes  in  Upper  Egypt.  He  concludes  from  thence, 
with  sufficient  reason,  that  an  Egyptian  emigration, 
of  which  we  find  some  traces  in  their  history,  settled 
themselves  upon  the  borders  of  the  eastern  ocean, 
and  grafted  the  history  of  their  native  place,  upon 
that  of  the  soil  of  their  adopted  country.  He  more- 
over points  out  an  evident  affinity  between  the 
Chinese  alphabet  and  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics. 
Whether  M.  de  Guignes  is  correct  in  his  conjectures 
or  not,  it  is  certain,  that  there  is  an  extraordinary 
similitude  in  the  manners,  genius,  morals,  and  cha- 
racter of  these  two  distant  nations;  and  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  collective  testimonies  adduced  by 
him  approximate  to  that  evidence  which  demands 
conviction. 

Admitting,  as  is  equally,  if  not  still  more  probably 
a  fact,  that  the  Chinese  emigrated  from  the  Hindoos, 
and  the  latter  from  the  Egyptians,  Sir  Wilham  Jones, 
consistently  with  the  above  hypothesis,  and  with 
evidence  deduced  from  the  high  authority  of  the 
Sanscrit,  traces  the  origin  of  the  Chinese  from  the 
Hindoos.  He  appeals  to  passages  of  the  ancient 
Sanscrit  records,  which  mention  a  migration  of  certain 
of  the  military  class  termed  Chinas  from  India  to  the 
countries  east  from  Bengal.     If  to  a  declaration  from 


nature,  that  the  most  unconnected  nations  could  not  fail  to  hit  upon  them ; 
or,  3dly,  that  they  have  been  all  derived  from  a  common  source.  He 
rejects  the  two  former  suppositions  as  contrary,  in  his  opinion,  to  the 
ordinary  course  of  things,  as  well  as  to  matter  of  fact ;  and  adopts  the 
last." 


24  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

the  Sanscrit,  by  so  competent  an  authority  as  Sir 
WilUam  Jones,  be  added  the  allowed  affinity  existing 
between  the  manners,  institutions,  religion,  and  pecu- 
liarities of  the  Hindoos  and  those  of  the  Chinese,  we 
have  an  evidence  relative  to  the  origin  of  the  latter, 
which,  if  it  obtain  not  our  entire  credence,  is,  at  least, 
entitled  to  our  respect. 

But  our  belief  of  this  is  further  strengthened  from 
the  consideration,  that  in  the  days  of  Ninus,  a.  m., 
1995,  the  Assyrian  empire  extended  from  Egypt  to 
Bactria,*  now  a  part  of  Bukharia ;  and  in  the  time 
of  Semiramis,  the  conquests  were  pursued  to  the  south 
and  east,  as  far  as  the  river  Indus.  The  transit, 
therefore,  of  Egyptian  colonists  to  India  or  Hindoos- 
tan,  at  this  time,  was  easy ;  since  one  interest,  or  one 
government  prevailed  from  Egypt  on  the  southwest 
to  Bactria  on  the  north,  and  to  the  Indus  on  the 
southeast.  Nineveht  founded  by  Asshur,:]:  the  second 
son  of  Shem,  who  gave  his  name  to  Assyria,  was  in 
the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Semiramis  the  metro- 
polis of  the  Assyrian  government,  but  in  the  latter 
part,  the  capital  was  established  at  Babylon :  the 
Chaldeans,  at  that  time,  being  a  part  of  the  same 
empire.  Both  the  Egyptians  and  Chaldeans  were 
renowned  for  their  early  acquaintance  with  the  arts 
and  sciences.  We  perceive,  therefore,  the  united  lore 
of  both  already  on  the  march  to  India.  And  if  the 
rest  of  that  march  we  give  up  to  the  high  authorities 
of  Sir  William  Jones  and  the  Sanscrit,  that  announce 
to  us  an  "  early  migration  of  the  military  class,  the 
Chinas  from  India  to  countries  east  of  Bengal,"  we 
are,  together  with  our  Egyptian  and  Chaldean§  colo- 
nists, in  China  at  once. 

*  Bactra,  the  capital,  was  about  (50  miles  to  the  north  of  the  present 
Samarcand,  the  metropolis  of  the  great  conqueror  Tamerlane. 

■j-  Now  called  Mossul,  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris. 

\  Cfen.  X.  11  and  32. 

§  "  In  confirmation  that  all  men  have  been  derived  from  one  family, 
let  it  be  observed,  that  there  are  many  customs  and  usages,  both  sacred 
and  civil,  which  have  prevailed  in  all  i)arts  of  the  world,  which  could 
owe  their  origin  to  nothing  but  a  general  institution,  that  could  never 

fHOPERn  UBRABT 
N,  C,  Siaie  Cota^e 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  25 

But  who  was  Fohi,  or  Uie  supposed  first  Chinese 
emperor?  And  who  were  the  Seres,  tlie  reputed  first 
cuhivators  of  silk,  and  where  did  they  dwell  ?  We 
shall  begin  with  the  latter  inquiry  first. 

Dr.  Lardner  informs  us  that  "  Se  is  the  name  for 
silk  in  the  Chinese  language  ;  this,  by  a  faulty  pro- 
nunciation in  the  frontier  provinces,  acquired  the 
finai  r,  thus  changing  the  word  into  Ser,  the  very 
name  adopted  by  the  Greeks."  And  under  the  word 
2»^  in  the  Lexicon  of  Hesychius  we  read  o-xa)x>i|  ymZ*  to 
a-x^U-.v,  the  worm  which  produces  the  silk  thread.  Its 
plural  is  found  in  the  same  sense  in  the  letter  of  the 
emperor  Julian,  o/  u^c-mc)  <r)7g«c,  the  Persian  silk  worms. 
Seres  also  in  the  plural,  was  employed  by  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  to  signify  the  people  who  attended  to 
silk  worms.  Hence  Serica,  the  country  of  the  Se7'es  ; 
which  was  sometimes  written  Sereinda,  a  term  ap- 
plicable indefinitely  to  any  country  inhabited  by  the 
Seres*  or  silk  growers,  beyond  the  Indus.t 

By  the  ancients,  and  in  maps  of  ancient  geography, 
Serica  is  differently  placed,  sometimes  more  to  the 

have  existed,  had  not  mankind  been  of  the  same  blood  originally,  and 
instructed  in  the  same  common  notions  before  they  were  dispersed. 
Among  these  usages  may  be  reckoned,  1.  The  numbering  by  tens.  2. 
Their  computing  time  by  a  cycle  oi  seven  days.  3.  Their  setting  apart 
the  seventh  day  for  religious  purposes.  4.  Their  use  of  sacrifices,  pro- 
pitiatory, and  eucharistical.  5.  The  consecration  of  temples  and  altars. 
6.  The  institution  of  sanctuaries  cr  places  of  refuge,  and  their  privi- 
leges. 7.  Their  giving  a  tenth  part  (tythe)  of  the  produce  of  their 
fields,  &c.  for  the  use  of  the  altar.  8.  The  custom  of  worshipping  the 
Deity  bare-footed.  9.  Abstinence  from  sensual  gratification  previous  to 
offering  sacrifice.  10.  The  order  of  priesthood  and  its  support.  11. 
The  notion  of  legal  pollutions,  defilements,  &c.  12.  The  universal 
tradition  of  a  general  deluge.  13.  The  universal  opinion  tliat  the  rain- 
boio  was  a  divine  sign  or  portent,  &c.  See  Dodd."  Dr.  A.  Clarke  on 
Gen.  X.  26. 

The  Chinese  use  certain  purifications  even  before  they  enter  their 
cocooneries.  See  a  summary  of  the  principal  Chinese  Treatises  on  the 
Culture  of  Silk,  &c.,  published  in  1838,  by  P.  Force,  Washington. 

*  Hence  the  Greek  term  for  silk,  a-ngin'.v,  the  Latin  sericum,  the  Ita- 
lian seta,  the  French  soie,  and  the  English  silk:  In  more  modem 
times,  from  0c,/uSv^,  or  Bombyx  mori,  the  caterpillar  of  the  mulberry,  we 
find  the  terms  Bombycina,  and  Bombykia  employed  to  signify  silk. 

■J-  Not  beyond  the  Ganges  as  lias  been  inconsidcratclv  ulfirmed. 
3 


26  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

east,  at  others  to  the  west,  but  never  beyond  the  48th 
degree  of  north  latitude.  This  is  indefinite,  but  easily 
accounted  for  from  the  consideration  that  the  ancients 
had  only  a  confused  idea  of  central  Asia.  They  gave 
it  the  vague  denomination  of  Scythia  beyond  Im- 
maus,  though  that  included  that  vast  region,  now 
known  as  Chinese  Tartary,  ranging  from  the  Belur- 
tag  mountains  on  the  west  to  the  Pacific  on  the  east. 
They,  therefore,  wrote  so  imperfectly  of  the  exact 
position  of  Seres,  Serica,  or  Sericcme,  as  to  occasion 
considerable  dispute  amongst  European  writers  on 
the  subject,  whilst  some,  for  no  better  reason  than 
that  deduced  from  the  more  modern  site  of  the  silk 
crade,  have  placed  it  in  northern  China.  But  we  are 
informed  by  Madame  Coind6,  that  an  enlightened 
critic,  without  stating  his  name,  has  assigned  satisfac- 
tory reasons  for  placing  aboriginal  Serica  in  little  Bu- 
charia,  a  country  crossing  the  40th  parallel  of  north 
latitude  near  the  eastern  fronts  of  the  Belur-tag  moun- 
tains; whence  migration  subsequently  may  have  taken 
place  to  China  proper. 

We  have  seen  that  the  most  probable  account  re- 
lative to  the  time  of  Fohi,  said  to  have  been  the  first 
Chinese  emperor,  is,  that  he  reigned  2057  years  be- 
fore the  Christian  era,  or  in  the  year  of  the  world 
1947.  "According  to  the  most  current  opinion," 
says  M.  Lavoisne,  "  China  was  founded  by  one  of 
the  colonies  formed  at  the  dispersion  of  Noah's  pos- 
terity, under  the  conduct  of  Yao,  who  took  for  his 
colleague  Chun,  afterwards  his  successor.  But  most 
writers  consider  Fohi  to  have  been  Noah  himself." 

Now  the  deluge  terminated  a.  m.  1657,  and  Noah 
lived  after  the  deluge  350  years,*  and  therefore  died 
A.  M.  2007  ;  and  as  Fohi  is  said  to  have  reigned  1 14 
years,  before  Eohi  Chun  or  Chinun  succeeded  him, 
he  was  cotemporary,  at  least,  with  Noah.  The  ark 
rested  on  Mount  Ararat,  which  is  generally  allowed  to 
be  one  of  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  to  the  east  of 

•  Gen.  ix.  28. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  27 

the  head  of  the  Tigris.  And  here  the  same  author 
remarks,  that  "  in  rather  less  than  a  century  and  a 
liah',  after  the  birth  of  Peleg,  it  is  supposed  that  Noah, 
being  then  about  his  S40th  year,  wearied  with  the 
growing  depravity  of  his  descendants,  retired  with  a 
select  company  to  a  remote  corner  of  Asia,  and  there 
began  what  in  after  ages  has  been  termed  the  Chinese 
nx)narchy."  Little  Bukharia  assigned  by  Madame 
Coinde  as  the  first  settlement  of  the  Seizes,  frequently 
translated  Chinese,  is  certainly  not  far  from  the  head 
of  the  Tigris.  But  here  we  take  our  leave  of  hypo- 
thesis, being  not  partial  to  any  beyond  what  truth 
and  future  investigation  will  warrant,  contenting  our- 
selves with  having  shown  that  the  most  respectable 
testimonies  relative  to  China  are  compatible  Avith  the 
most  authentic  records,  now  extant,  in  the  world. 

Having  offered  these  preliminary  remarks,  and  given 
the  most  credible  hypotheses  to  supply  the  place  of 
absolute  fiction ;  finding  also  that  the  theories  and 
even  reputable  testimonies  presented  by  Messieurs 
JNIairan,  Bailly,  Guignes,  and  Sir  William  Jones,  are 
perfectly  compatible  with  each  other,  and  allow  us 
to  demonstrate  that  the  transit  of  more  central  abori- 
gines, since  the  deluge,  to  the  extremes  of  China,  was 
perfectly  feasible,  and  a  matter  of  even  high  proba- 
bility, we  have  sufficient  warrant  to  decline  repeating 
whatever  any  one  else  has  said  relative  to  the  ex- 
treme antiquity  of  the  first  discovery  of  silk.  With 
a  considerable  portion  of  mankind,  the  passion  for 
the  marvellous  is  excessive.  China  and  other  distant 
regions  have  been  a  convenient  fund  to  draw  upon. 
Had  it  not  been  for  this  source,  the  legends  of  Greek 
and  Roman  mythology  having  been  long  since  given 
up  as  the  mere  bagatelle  for  the  school-boy,  there 
would  have  been  a  dearth.  Fortunately  for  this  pur- 
pose China  is  remote,  access  to  her  is  denied,  her 
ancient  records  are  burnt;  yet  what  has  been  written 
since,  we  are  told,  is  more  ancient  than  P^gyptian 
pyramids.  Thus  the  fund  is  renewed;  and  in  our 
search  for  the  new  and  strange,  we  are,  conveniently 


28  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

enough,  sent  to  China,  to  the  Pelew  Islands,  to  the 
depths  of  Nubia,  to  Gondar,  or  to  Tombuctoo,  where, 
of  course,  no  one  else  can  go.  Of  emperors  the  Chi- 
nese boast  of  244,  from  Fohi  the  first,  to  Kia-Kim  the 
present  sovereign;  and  of  gods,  goddesses,  demi-gods, 
and  semi-goddesses,  heroes,  heroines,  satyrs,  fauns, 
the  Pelopidse,  Heraclidffi,  Labdacides,  and  Tynda- 
rida3,  river,  wood,  and  mountain  nymphs  of  Greek 
and  Roman  mythology,  without  the  name  of  empe- 
ror, king,  or  consul  of  authentic  history,  we  ourselves 
can  furnish,  by  genealogy  and  pedigree,  a  catalogue 
of  more  than  66G,  and  calculate,  as  well  as  the 
Jesuits,  eclipses  for  them  too,  if  required ;  and  how 
many  more  they  had,  to  whom  as  yet  we  have  not 
had  the  honour  of  an  introduction,  we  know  not. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES. 

In  Russcl's  View  of  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt  wc  find,  relative  to 
the  subject  of  the  preceding  chapter,  so  many  vahiL'.liIe  remarks,  and  that 
evidence,  whicli  it  has  cost  iho  world  ages  to  collect,  that  we  cannot 
persuade  ourselves  to  withhold  such  as  our  limits  will  allow  from  our 
readers ;  and  therefore  add  the  following  notes. 

1 .  "It  has  long  been  an  object  of  inquiry  among  scholars  to  discover 
the  channel  through  which  civilization,  science,  and  an  acquaintance 
with  the  liberal  arts  first  reached  the  valley  which  is  watered  by  the 
Nile.  Without  analyzing  the  numerous  hypotheses  which  have  been 
successively  formed  and  abandoned,  we  shall  state  at  once  as  the  most 
probable  of  the  opinions  that  have  been  entertained  on  this  subject,  that 
the  stream  of  knowledge,  from  the  first  family,  accompanied  the  progress 
of  commerce  along  the  banks  of  those  great  rivers,  which  fall  into  the 
Persian  Gulf  and  thence  along  the  coast  of  Arabia  to  the  shores  of  the 
Eed  Sea.  There  is  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  those  passes  or  lateral 
defiles  which  connect  the  sea  just  named  with  the  river  of  Egypt,  wit- 
nessed the  earliest  migration  of  colonists  from  Asia ;  who,  in  tlie  pur- 
suits of  commerce,  or  in  search  of  more  fertile  lands,  or  of  mountains 
enriched  with  gold,  found  their  way  into  Nubia  and  Abyssinia.  Mean- 
time it  is  possible,  a  similar  current  set  eastward  across  the  mouths  of 
the  Indus,  carryuig  arts  and  institutions  of  a  corresponding  character 
into  ihe  countries  which  stretch  from  that  river  to  the  great  peninsula 
of  Hindoostan. 

2.  "  The  most  obvious  confinnation  of  the  opinion  now  stated  may 
he  drawn  from  the  striking  resemblance  which  is  luiown  to  subsist  be- 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  29 

tween  the  usages,  the  suptTstition*:.  the  arts,  ant'  the  mythology  of  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  western  India,  and  those  of  the  first  settlers  on  the 
Upper  IS'ile.  The  temples  of  jVubia,  lor  example,  exhibit  the  same 
features,  whether  as  to  the  style  of  architecture,  or  the  form  of  worship 
which  must  have  been  practised  in  thpm,  with  the  similar  buildings 
which  have  been  recently  examined  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bombay. 
In  both  cases  they  consist  of  vast  excavations  hewn  out  of  the  solid 
body  of  a  hill  or  mountain,  and  are  decorated  with  huge  figures  which 
mdicate  the  same  powers  of  nature,  or  serve  as  emblems  to  denote  the 
same  qualities  in  the  ruling  spirits  of  the  universe. 

3.  "  As  a  further  proof  of  this  hvpothesis,  we  are  informed  that  the 
Sepoys  who  joined  the  British  armv  in  Egypt  under  Lord  Hutchinson, 
unagined  that  they  found  their  own  temples  in  the  ruins  of  Dendera, 
and  were  greatly  exasperated  at  the  natives  for  their  neglect  of  the  an- 
cient deities,  whose  images  are  still  preserved.  So  strongly  indeed  were 
they  themselves  impressed  with  this  identity,  that  they  proceeded  to 
perform  their  devotions  with  all  the  ce;-emonies  practised  in  their  own 
land.  There  is  a  resemblance  too.  in  the  minor  instruments  of  their 
superstition — the  lotus,  the  lingam,  and  the  serpent, — which  cau  hardly 
be  regarded  as  accidental ;  but  it  is  no  doubt  in  the  immense  extent,  the 
gigantic  plan,  the  vast  conception  which  appear  in  all  their  sacred 
buildings,  that  we  most  readilv  discover  the  influence  of  the  same  lofty 
genius,  and  the  endeavour  to  ai'coinphsh  the  same  mighty  object.  The 
excavated  temple  of  Guerfeh  Hassan,  for  instance,  remiuds  every  travel- 
ler of  the  cave  of  Elcphanta.  The  resemblance,  indeed,  is  singularly 
strildng ;  as  are  all  the  leading  principles  of  Egyptian  architecture  to 
those  of  the  Hindoos.  Many  even  of  the  rites  and  emblems  are  pre- 
cisely the  same,  especially  those  of  the  temples  dedicated  to  Iswara,  the 
Indian  Bacchus.  In  truth  they  are  so  much  alike  that  the  same  workman 
might  almost  be  supposed  to  have  superintended  the  execution  of  them  in 
both  countries.  In  India  and  in  Egj^pt  the  hardest  granite  mountains  have 
been  cut  down  into  the  m^st  striking,  if  not  the  most  beautiful  fronts  of 
temples  ado.Tied  with  sculpture.  In  both  countries  larse  masses  of  rocks 
have  been  excavated  into  hollow  chambers,  whose  sides  are  embelhshed 
with  columns  and  statues  of  men  and  animals  carved  out  of  the  same 
stone  ;  and  in  each  are  found  solid  blocks  of  many  hundred  tons  weight, 
separated  from  the  adjoining  mountain,  and  lifted  up  into  the  air. 
By  whom  and  by  what  means  these  wonderful  efforts  have  been  ac- 
complished is  a  mystery  sunk  too  deep  into  the  abyss  of  time  ever  to  be 
revealed.  We  need  only  compare  the  monolithic  temples  of  Nubia  with 
those  of  Mahabulipoor,  the  excavations  of  Guerfeh  Hassan  with  those 
of  Elephanti,  and  the  grottoes  of  Hadjur  Silsih  with  the  caverns  of  El- 
lora,  to  be  convinced  that  these  sacred  monuments  of  ancient  days  de- 
rived their  origin  from  the  same  source." 

4.  "  A  resemblance  of  a  corresponding  nature  has  been  discovered  in 
the  reUgious  usages  of  the  Chinese  compared  with  those  of  the  Egyptians, 
particularly  in  what  is  called  the  feast  of  lamps,  a  festival  annually  ob- 
served by  the  latter  people,  a: id  graphically  described  by  Herodotus 
This  coincidence  led  M.  de  Guign  s  to  conclude  that  the  first  inhabi- 
tants of  China  mu?t  have  been  a  colony  from  Egypt.  But  it  is  easy  to 
account  for  all  such  facts  on  a  much  more  rational  hypothesis.    No  one 

3* 


30  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

can  have  failed  to  remark,  that  ainongj  the  more  ancient  nations,  thore 
is  a  great  similarity  in  point  of  tradition,  hal)it.s,  opinions,  knowledge, 
and  history.  The  Babylonians,  the  Egi/p/ians,  the  Asayriann,  the 
Hindoos,  and  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  held  many  things  in  com- 
mon respecting  the  creation  of  the  world,  the  great  deluge,  the  disper- 
sion of  the  human  race,  and  the  first  institution  of  laws  and  religioua 
worship.  Hence  we  may  conclude  that  the  general  agreement  in  these 
particulars,  which  we  contemplate  among  the  more  primitive  tribes  of 
mankind,  ought  to  be  ascribed  to  the  instruction  which  they  had  re- 
ceived while  as  yet  they  were  but  one  family,  or  to  the  traditionary 
tenets  which  had  spread,  with  here  and  there  a  little  variation,  with  the 
diverging  lines  of  their  successive  tribes,  though  derived  originally  from 
the  same  source. 

5.  "  But  by  far  the  most  striking  point  of  resemblance  between  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Egypt  and  of  India  is  the  institution  of  castes; 
that  singular  arrangement  which  places  an  insuperable  barrier  between 
diflerent  orders  of  men  in  the  same  country,  and  renders  their  respective 
honours,  toils,  and  degradations,  strictly  hereditary  and  permanent. 
Before  tue  invention  of  letters,  indeed,  mankind  may  be  said  to  have 
been  perpetually  in  their  infancy ;  whence  arose  the  expedient,  founded 
in  a  view  for  the  public  good,  of  compelling  sons  to  cultivate  the  arts 
which  had  originated  in  their  families,  and  to  follow  the  professions 
whereby  their  fathers  had  acquired  distinction.  The  narrative  of  Hero- 
dotus bears  evidence  to  the  same  institution  at  an  early  period  among 
the  Egyptians.  And  his  statement  when  compared  with  that  of  Dio- 
dorus  Siculus  at  a  later  epoch,  removes  every  shadow  of  doubt  in  regard 
to  the  identity  of  the  principle  from  which  this  political  arrangement  must 
have  originally  proceeded." 

The  reader  will  not  be  disappointed  in  perusing  the  whole  of  the 
highly  interesting  volume  from  which  these  notes  are  extracted. 


HISTORY   OF    SILK.  31 


CHAPTER  II. 

HISTORY     OF     SILK     TO     THE     PERIOD     WHEN     SILK    WORMS 
WERE    FIRST    INTRODUCED    INTO    EUROPE. 

Though  we  are  called  upon  in  this  chapter  to  give 
the  chronology  relative  to  the  early  culture  of  silk, 
as  found  in  Chinese  documents,  yet  we  are  by  no 
means  pledged  to  affirm  that  either  in  the  authenticity 
of  the  books,  or  in  the  correctness  of  the  dates  have 
we  any  faith.  The  whole  of  this,  for  the  several 
irrefragable  objections  already  assigned,  is  exceed- 
ingly questionable.  M.  Lavoisne  dates  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Chinese  dynasties  at  a.  m.*  1816, 
or  159  years  after  the  deluge.  The  Rev.  J.  Robinson 
of  Christ  Col.,  Cam.,  at  a.  m.  1947.  We  have  already 
given  as  strong  reasons,  as  under  the  extreme  incer- 
titude of  the  case,  can,  perhaps,  be  offered,  for  pre- 
ferring the  latter:  the  important  points  may  be  briefly 
stated,  thus: 

End  of  the  deluge j-1657  a.  m. 

Fohi,  first  emperor,  began  to  reign 1 947  a,  m. 

Noah  died ., 2007  a.m. 

Eohi  Chinun,  second  emperor,  began  to  reign 2061  a.  sr. 

Hoang-ti,  the  third  emperor,  began  to  reign 2201  a.  m. 

Hoang-ti,  after  establishing  the  silk  culture,  died 2301  a.  m. 

And  was  therefore  contemporary  with  Joseph  when  administering  the 
afiairs  of  Egypt. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Seres  is  the  term  origi- 
nally employed  for  the  silk  growe?'s,  and  since  iden- 

•  We  prefer  this  mode  (a.  m.  anno  mundi,  in  the  year  of  the  world) 
of  marking  the  time  of  events  prior  to  the  birth  of  Christ,  which  ac- 
cording to  the  commonly  received  chronology  was  a.  m.  4004. 

•}-  It  will  here  not  be  improper  to  observe  that  the  Samaritan  text  and 
Septuagint  version  of  the  Hebrew,  carry  the  deluge  as  far  back  as  to  the 
year  3716  before  Christ;  or  1000  years  before  the  Chinese  account  of 
Hoang-ti.  On  this  subject  see  the  New  Analysis  of  Chronology,  by 
the  Rev.  W.  Hales,  D.D.,  4to.  3  vol. 


32  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

tified  with  the  Chinese :  Serica,  the  silk  growing 
country,  was  therefore  that  of  the  Seres.  Serica,  in 
the  most  indefinite  sense,  was  thought  to  be  some 
region  within  what  we  call  Chinese  Tartary :  by 
others,  perhaps,  inconsiderately  placed  in  China  pro- 
per ;  but  by  an  ingenious  author,  quoted,  but  not 
named,  by  Madame  Coinde,  in  Little  Bukharia,  near 
the  Belur-tag  mountains.  We  are  not  disposed  to 
contemplate  Screinda,  or  the  silk  country  beyond  the 
Indus,  as  a  distinct  section  of  Serica.  The  course  of 
the  Indus,  from  which  Sereinda  is  designated,  is  on 
the  western  frontiers  of  the  Belur-tag  mountains, 
which  to  a  considerable  distance,  but  not  uniformly, 
form  the  western  boundaries  of  Little  Bukharia  ;  and 
the  source  of  the  Indus  has  been  traced  nearly  as  high 
as  the  40th  parallel  of  north  latitude.  We,  therefore, 
contemplate  the  primitive  settlement  of  the  aboriginal 
Seres,  or  the  ancient  Serica,  or  Sereinda,  as  the  same 
country ;  and  about  five  degrees  to  the  south,  but  on 
the  same  meridian  with  the  present  city  of  Cashgar; 
and  consequently  between  the  sources  of  the  Indus 
on  the  west,  and  the  Belur-tags  on  the  east.  And 
sections  of  this  original  colony  might  subsequently 
migrate  to  Hindoostan  on  the  south,  or  to  China  on 
the  east.  Whether  this  was  the  cradle  of  the  first  silk 
culture  or  not,  the  general  interest,  in  process  of  time, 
would  naturally  set  in  with  the  tide  of  migration  and 
move  easterly,  until  we  find  the  great  emporium 
within  the  limits  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 

Here,  doubtless,  the  Seres  would  be  in  the  time  of 
so  late  a  Roman  writer  as  Ammianus  Marcellinus, 
quoted  by  Dr.  Lardner.  "  Marcellinus  describes  the 
Seres  as  a  sedate  and  gentle  people,  who  avoid  all 
contentions  with  neighbouring  nations,  and  are,  there- 
fore, free  from  the  miseries  and  alarms  of  war.  Being 
without  the  necessity  for  using  offensive  weapons, 
they  are  even  unacquainted  with  them.  Blessed 
with  a  fertile  soil,  and  a  delicious  and  salubrious  cli- 
mate, they  are  represented  as  passing  their  happy 
days  in  the  most  perfect  tranquillity  and  delightful 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  33 

leisure,  amid  shady  groves  fanned  by  gentle  breezes, 
and  producing  fleeces  of  downy  wool,  which  after 
being  sprinkled  ivith  water,  is  combed  off  in  the 
finest  threads,  and  woven  into  sericum."  Marcel- 
liniis  proceeds  to  describe  the  Seres  as  being  content 
with  their  own  felicitous  condition,  and  so  reserved 
in  their  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  mankind,  that 
when  foreigners  venture  within  their  boundaries  for 
wrought  and  unwrought  silk,  and  other  vahiable  ar- 
ticles, they  consider  the  price  offered  in  silence,  and 
transact  their  business  without  exchanging  a  word : 
a  mode  of  tralffc  which  is  still  practised  in  some 
eastern  countries.  How  nearly  this  corresponds  to 
the  singularly  immutable  manners  of  the  Chinese  of 
the  present  age,  is  sufficiently  obvious. 

But  would  we  know  what  account  the  Chinese 
themselves  give  relative  to  the  earliest  introduction 
of  the  silk  culture,  we  shall  find  it  in  the  French  ver- 
sion of  the  Chinese  Treatises,  by  JNI.  Stanislas  Julien, 
or  in  the  following  words  of  p.  77  and  78,  as  trans- 
lated and  published  in  1838,  at  Washington,  under 
the  title  of  "  Summary*  of  the  principal  Chinese 
Treatises  upon  the  Culture  of  the  Mulberry,  and  the 
rearing  of  Silk  Worms," 

"In  the  book  on  silk  worms  we  read — the  lawful 
wife  of  the  emperor  Hoang-ti,  named  Si-ling-chi, 
began  the  culture  of  silk.  It  was  at  that  time  that 
the  emperor  Hoang-ti  invented  the  art  of  making 
garments." 

"  Observations  by  the  Translator. — The  same  fact 
is  mentioned  more  in  detail  in  the  general  history  of 
China,  by  P.  Mailla,  in  the  year  2602t  before  our 
era,  (4438  years  ago.)" 

*  "  This  Summary  was  first  translated  from  the  Chuiese,  by  M.  Stan- 
islas Julien,  member  of  the  French  Institute,  and  Professor  of  Chinese 
Literature  in  the  College  of  France,  and  printed  at  the  royal  press  in 
Paris  by  order  of  the  minister  of  public  works,  agriculture,  and  com- 
merce. The  French  copy  from  which  this  translation  was  made,  was 
transmitted  from  Paris  to  the  secretary  of  state,  and  by  his  recommen- 
dation has  been  translated  and  pubhslied  at  Washington." 

•j"  Not  2700  B.  c.  as  commonly  repeated. 


34  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

"This  great  prince,  Hoang-ti,  was  desirous  that 
Si-ling-chi,  his  legitimate  wife,  should  contribute  to 
the  happiness  of  his  people.  He  charged  her  to  ex- 
amine the  silk  Avorms,  and  to  test  the  practicability 
of  using  the  thread.  Si-ling-chi  had  a  large  quantity 
of  these  insects  collected,  which  she  fed  herself,  in  a 
place  prepared  solely  for  that  purpose,  and  discovered 
not  only  the  means  of  raising  them,  but  also  the 
manner  of  reeling  the  silk,  and  of  employing  it  to 
make  garments." 

"It  is  through  gratitude  for  so  great  a  benefit,"  says 
the  history, entitled  Wai-ki,  "that  posterity  has  deified 
Si-ling-chi,  and  rendered  her  particular  honours  un- 
der the  name  of  the  goddess  of  silk  worms*  (Me- 
moirs on  the  Chinese,  vol.  13,  p.  240.)" 


*  Whatever  of  these  extracts  is  important  we  shall,  in  the  notes,  in- 
troduce, in  the  proper  place;  and  take  this  opportunity  to  observe,  once 
for  all,  that  no  doubt  to  nia;:y  the  Chinese  prescriptions  will  frequently 
appear  to  be  blended  \vi;!i  superstition,  or  with  what  we  should  have 
thought  too  trifling  for  the  sense  and  science  of  a  people  of  4000  years. 
But  since  M.  Camille  Boauvais's  well  known  enthusiasm  for  the  intro- 
duction of  improvement  in  the  culture  of  the  mulberry  and  rearing  of 
silk  worms  has  led  him  to  commend,  in  almost  unqualified  terms,  what- 
ever the  Chinese  say  on  the  subject,  we  shall,  wherever  occasion  re- 
quires, introduce  their  rules  as  we  find  them,  leaving  it  to  the  reader's 
judgment  and  experience  to  determine  what  is  unnecessaiy. 

On  this  subject,  we  quote  as  follows  from  the  preface  to  the  American 
edition.  "Notwithstanding  the  superiority  of  the  French  in  the  arts 
and  sciences,  and  length  of  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  introduction 
of  the  manufacture  of  silk  into  France,  (in  the  reign  of  Francis  I.,)  the 
fact  of  the  great  superiority  of  the  Chinese  culture  is  frankly  admitted 
by  M.  Camille  Beauvais,  the  gentleman  at  whose  instance  the  French 
minister  directed  the  translation  to  be  made  from  the  Chinese  works. 
Such  is   the  strength  of  his  testimony  on  this  point,  that  he  asserts, 

"  THE   CHINESE   LOSK   IN    THE     HEAIlINt;     StAHCKLY     ONE     I'Ell    CENT.  OF 
THEin  WORMS,   WHEREAS  THE  FRENCH   LOSE  MORE  THAN  FIFTY  !" 

"  Some  minds,  influenced  by  ancient  traditions,"  says  M.  Beauvais, 
"will  perhaps  consider  this  multitude  of  trilling  attentions,  which  the 
Chinese  lavish  ujjon  the  silk  worms  as  childish ;  others  will  only  see 
some  proceedings  little  difl'erent  from  theirs  in  appearance,  or  will  say, 
that  they  may  be  proper  to  the  climate  of  China,  and  not  ajiplicable  in 
ours.  But  time  and  experience  will,  I  hope,  cause  these  natural 
methods,  these  delicate  attentions,  these  wise  and  multiplied  precau- 
tions, the  Chinese  authors  recommend  to  be  appreciated  at  their  just 
value." 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  35 

We  have  here  an  example  of  the  good  sense,  which, 
in  this  respect  at  least,  the  Chinese  have  evinced  not 
only  in  primeval  but  also  in  subsequent  times.  The 
attention  of  the  "powers  that  be,"  do  not  seem  there 


After  this  explanation  we  shall  add  the  most  important  points  from 
the  translation  of  these  Chinese  works  now  before  us. 

"  It  is  written  in  the  Book  on  Worms,"  one  of  the  five  canonical 
books,  chapter  Pin-fong,  Ode  I.,  "  In  the  month  when  the  silk  worms 
are  fed  (fourth  month)  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  trees  must  be  ga- 
thered." '  This  chapter  was  composed  by  Tcheou-kons,  uncle  to  the 
emperor  Tcking-wang,  1115  years  before  our  era.' — St.  Julien. 

'•  We  read  in  the  Li-ki,  or  book  of  Ceremonies,  one  of  the  five  cano- 
nical books,  in  the  chapter  Youei-sing : 

'  In  the  last  spring  month,  the  young  empress  purifies  herself,  and 
offera  a  sacrifice  to  the  goddess  of  silk  worms,^  (^"fiT  important !)  '  She 
goes  to  the  fields,  situated  to  the  east,  and  gathers  mulberry  leaves  her- 
self. She  forbids  the  noble  ladies  and  ministers'  wives  all  ornamental 
dress,  who  sew  and  embroider,  so  that  they  may  be  able  to  give  all  their 
attention  to  the  raising  of  silk  worms.' 

"  The  Li-ki,  or  book  of  Rites,  from  which  this  passage  has  been  ex- 
tracted, was  compiled  by  Confucius,  whose  birth  was  551  b.  c." 

"  In  the  work  entitled  Nong-sang-ihong-kioue,  we  read  : 

'  The  place  called  kien-kouan,  (or  the  house  of  cocoons,)  is  that 
where  the  empress  herself  raises  silk  worms.  In  ancient  times,  there 
was  a  plantation  of  mulberry  trees,  belonging  to  the  state,  and  a  build- 
ing called  Tsan-cki,  (or  the  house  of  the  silk  worms,)  which  had  the 
same  destination,  which  is  now  designated  kien-kouan,  viz.  the  house 
of  cocoons. 

'  The  young  empress  purifies  herself,  and  offers  a  sacrifice  to  the  god- 
dess of  the  silk  worms,  as  an  example  to  the  whole  empire,  and  to  pro- 
mote the  general  culture  of  silk.  The  empress  repairs  to  a  mulberry 
plantation.  She  first  cuts  a  branch  ;  an  attendant  who  holds  a  basket, 
receives  the  leaves ;  afterwards  the  empress  cuts  three  branches.  A 
maid  of  honour,  endowed  with  the  title  of  Chang-ckou,  (or  president,) 
throws  herself  on  her  knees,  and  says,  if  is  enough.'  (Does  M.  Beau- 
vais  wish  all  this  to  be  attended  to  !)  It  is  forbidden  to  carry  the  leaves 
to  that  part  of  the  palace  called  Ken-chi,  or  golden  house." 

"  The  author  of  the  work  entitled  Nong-song-thong-kioue  continues 
to  quote  some  analogous  facts,  which  he  had  gathered  from  the  history 
of  the  emperors,  from  the  years  of  Thien-pao,  968,  of  the  dynasty  of 
Song,  under  wliich  he  lived,  so  as  to  show,  that  from  the  highest  an- 
tiquity, the  empress  raised  silk  worms  as  an  example  to  the  whole  em- 
pire." 

"  In  the  work  entitled  Tsan-lun,  or  Considerations  on  the  silk  worm, 
we  notice : 

"  Every  species  of  tree  requires  a  particular  soil,  except  the  mulberry 
tree  alone,  which  grows  everywhere,  and  consequently  there  is  not  a 
single  place  in  the  empire  where  silk  worms  camiot  be  raised." 


36  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

SO  much  directed  either  to  support  and  extend  society 
in  an  artificial  condition,  or  in  political  wrangling  and 
intrigue ;  but  in  the  promotion  of  that  natural  and 
salutary  state,  which  can  only  be  maintained  by  a 
due  proportion  between  production  and  consumption, 
especially  in  reference  to  every  agricultural  depart- 
ment. And,  therefore,  in  this,  the  productive  class  is 
encouraged  l3y  imperial  or  royal  sanction  and  patron- 
age. We  have,  therefore,  before  us,  an  historical 
demonstration  of  the  felicitous  consequences  of  such 
a  polity  :  whilst  it  has  in  all  ages  of  that  vast  empire 
contributed  to  the  comfort  and  consequent  peace  and 
content  of  the  many  millions  subject  to  its  government, 
it  has  by  the  same  means  combined  the  immense  plains 
of  Chinese  interests  into  one  consolidated  system  of 
independence  and  wealth. 

This  policy,  found  profitable  at  first,  was  continued 
through  a  succession  of  generations  too  numerous  for 
even  history  to  comprise ;  and  royal  sanction  and 
patronage  were  perpetuated  through  a  long  line  of 
the  empresses  of  4000  years.  The  fair  sex  of  all  ranks 
did  not  fail,  under  such  fostering  auspices,  to  copy  a 
precedent  at  once  honourable  in  its  character  and 
profitable  to  themselves.  The  example  of  encou- 
raging domestic  industry  was  shown  by  the  emperor 
and  princes,  mandarins,  courtiers,  and  all  orders  be- 
came clothed  in  silk.  Thus  China,  at  an  early  period, 
was  in  possession  of  a  secret  that  European  nations 
have  not  learned  to  this  day :  that  the  full  encourage- 
ment of  home  produce  and  manufacture  is  of  far 
greater  consequence  than  foreign  trade. 

Such  is  the  wise  and  steady  coiuse  that  has  been 

This  seems  confirmed,  since  in  the  same  notes  we  find  the  following 
provinces  of  China  where  silk  is  raised,  viz.  Si-gan-fou,  v^hich  is  now 
the  capital  of  the  present  provinces  of  Chen-si,  Hunan,  Chan-si,  Hou- 
nan,  Chan-tong,  Hou-kouung,  Sse-tchouen.  There  are  similar  short 
and  detached  historical  notices  relative  to  the  years  163  b.  c,  156  b.  c, 
•18  B.  c,  .58  A.  D.,  220  A.  1).,  26.5  and  275  a.  d.,  454  and  457  a.  d.,  but 
none  of  them  contain  any  thing  important  to  Americans  or  new  or  un- 
known, as  to  the  culture,  to  moderns,  except  such  peculiarities  as  we 
have  already  specified. 


HISTORY    OF    SILE.  37 

exemplified  and  transmitted  from  emperor  to  emperor, 
and  from  empress  to  empress.  It  seems  to  declare 
to  the  world  that  the  permanency  of  nations  cannot 
exist,  except  where  the  interest  of  the  government 
and  that  of  the  people  is  such  as  to  be  identical.  It 
is  not  the  theory  of  a  political  economist,  but  an  ex- 
periment that  has  been  tested  by  centuries.  For  its 
verity  time  himself  has  been  appealed  to,  and  has 
given  a  verdict  that  is  a  salutary  lesson  to  those  that 
have  neglected  it.  Its  utility  and  profit  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  to  the  nation  have  been  too  reciprocal  to 
require  distinction,  and  as  changeless  as  the  necessities 
of  man. 

A  state  occupied  in  the  pursuits  of  war,  or  in  inter- 
national feuds  and  distraction,  is  embarked  in  the 
career  of  national  hazard  and  popular  suffering.  But 
the  emperor,  prince,  or  government,  monarchical  or 
republican,  that  smiles  on  the  amenities  of  peace,  by 
extending  its  fostering  energies  collaterally  with  the 
wants  of  man,  and  encourages  production  proportion- 
ate to  necessity,  adopts  a  policy  which  has  the  highest 
claim  of  any  thing  secular  to  perpetuity.  Thus  an 
adequate  impetus  is  given  to  industry;  national  broils 
are  merged  in  the  prospect  of  domestic  comfort,  and 
dissatisfaction  is  exchanged  for  contentment;  salutary 
habits  are  instituted ;  new  prospects  are  introduced 
and  urged ;  and  reciprocal  interests  are  national 
sinews.  To  promote  this,  a  spring  is  bent  of  imperial 
steel :  and  what  is  the  consequence  ?  The  mulberry, 
the  orchard,  the  plantation,  and  even  the  very  insects 
are  put  in  requisition.  An  easy,  a  pleasant,  and  a 
profitable  mode  of  employment  is  established  suit- 
able to  all  ranks,  all  ages,  and  constitutions.  In 
this,  industry  becomes  nobility  and  imparts  it. 
The  emperors,  the  empresses,  princes,  mandarins, 
courtiers,  the  affluent,  the  learned,  all,  were  in  the 
ranks.  National  and  home  wants  were  supplied; 
commerce  lends  her  wings ;  ships  and  caravans 
moved ;  oceans  and  seas  gave  their  aid,  and  deserts 
looked  gay ;  solitudes,  if  not  made  to  blossom,  were 

4 


38  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

seen  to  smile ;  the  Parthians,  the  Hindoos,  the  Per- 
sees,  the  Arabs,  the  Syrians,  the  Phoenicians,  were 
converting  the  wastes  of  Asia  into  the  panorama  of 
activity:  all  western  tribes  were  seen  in  travelling 
communities,  and  the  "  wealth  of  the  Indies"  became 
a  proverb  current  as  far  as  the  shores  of  Colombia. 
Thus  China  has  stood  as  a  monument,  with  the  age 
and  firmness  of  a  pyramid,  to  testify  to  the  world, 
that  whilst  many  states  have  felt  the  alternate  favours 
and  caprice  of  fortune,  or  have  fallen  as  suddenly  as 
they  rose  in  the  scale  of  nations,  she,  by  pursuing  a 
policy  differing  from  all,  has  stood  the  test  of  4000 
years. 

This  career  of  industry  and  domestic  production 
found  so  beneficial  at  first,  is  continued  to  the  present. 
By  adverting  to  the  preface  of  the  Washington  edition 
of  the  Summary  we  have  mentioned,  we  read  that, 
"  the  egg  of  this  insect  exceeds  not  the  size  of  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed,  yet  so  amazing  are  the  results,  that 
the  proceeds  of  its  industry  actually  constitute  the 
chief  source  of  wealth  to  the  most  populous,  and  per- 
haps the  richest  nation  of  the  globe.  In  the  language 
of  a  French  writer,  '  If  the  cocoons  in  China  were 
collected  together  they  would  form  mountains.'  The 
two  provinces  of  Nanking  and  Chakiang,  alone  send 
every  year  to  the  court  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
barks  laden  not  only  with  pieces  of  wrought  silk, 
satins,  and  velvets  of  various  kinds  and  colours,  but 
even  with  rich  and  costly  garments  of  the  same  ma- 
terial." If  two  provinces,  only,  annually  send  this 
quantity,  and  that  merely  to  the  court,  what  all  the 
provinces  transmit  not  only  for  national  consumption, 
but  to  the  other  parts  of  Asia,  and  to  the  rest  of  the 
world,  we  may  conjecture,  but  cannot  estimate.* 


*  The  singular  mode  by  which  weaving  or  the  manufacture  of  silk 
fabrics  is  conducted  in  some  parts  of  China,  is  thus  narrated  at  page  18 
of  vol.  1,  of  the  Silk  Culturist. 

"  Silk  looms  in  Europe  arc  of  the  most  simple  construction,  but  when 
contrasted  with  the  contrivances  in  India,  would  seem  to  give  them  a 
decided  advantage.     In  Indiei,  the  weaver  weaves  his  web  ia  the  open 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  39 

It  is  a  singular  mystery  attached  to  the  history  of 
the  culture  of  silk,  "that  before  silk  worms  were 
brought  to  Constantiuople,  in  the  middle  of  the  sixth 
century,  no  person  in  that  capital,"  nor  apparently 
beyond  the  precincts  of  China,  "  knew  that  silk  was 
produced  by  a  worm."*  Notwithstanding  this,  not 
onl}'"  were  silk  fabrics  transmitted  to  distant  nations, 
but  also  the  raw  material,  which  employed  manufac- 
tories in  Persiaj  Tyre,  Berytus,  and  in  Cos,  an  island 
of  the  Archipelago.t     It  is  obvious  that  had  the  use 

air.  He  first  selects  a  station  for  his  work,  generally  under  a  tree,  that 
its  foliage  may  protect  him  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  He 
then  extends  the  threads  which  compose  the  warp  of  his  intended  fabric 
lengthwise  between  two  bamboo  rollers,  which  are  fastened  to  the  ground 
by  means  of  wooden  pins.  He  then  digs  a  hole  in  the  earth  large 
enough  to  contain  his  legs  in  a  sitting  posture.  He  next  attaches  to  a 
limb  of  the  tree,  the  cords  by  which  his  harness  is  to  be  worked,  and 
to  the  lower  shafts  of  the  harness  cords  with  loops  of  suflicient  size  to 
admit  the  insertion  of  his  great  toes.  With  his  web  thus  arranged,  he 
is  prepared  to  commence  weaving.  This  he  does  by  putting  his  toe 
in*o  the  loop  of  the  cord  attached  to  that  part  of  the  harness  which  he 
wishes  to  tread  down,  and  then  with  a  shuttle  introduces  the  woof  and. 
be.Us  up  by  striking  the  threads  of  the  woof  with  the  shuttle  instead  of 
a  batten.  The  shuttle  is  in  the  form  of  a  netting  needle,  and  longer 
than  the  breadth  of  the  web.  With  this  rude  apparatus  he  manufac- 
turi's  a  fabric  of  which  an  Italian  silk  weaver  would  be  proud.  If  the 
silk  manufacture  in  China  is  so  simple,  and  is  so  easily  performed  with- 
out the  aid  of  complicated  machineiy,  can  it  not  be  successfully  prose- 
cuted in  a  country  abounding  in  machinists,  with  ingenuity  to  invent, 
and  skill  to  execute  the  most  perfect  machinery  in  the  world  ] 

*  Theophanes  and  Zonaras,  the  Byzantine  historians  quoted  by  Dr. 
Lardner. 

J  Chateaubriand,  in  his  travels,  speaking  of  the  isle  of  Zea,  says,  its 
present  commerce  are  acorns  and  silk.  "  Tiie  silk  gauze  worn  by  the 
ancients  was  invented  at  Ceos,"  the  ancient  name  of  Zea.  "  The  poets, 
to  convey  an  idea  of  its  fineness  and  transparency,  called  it  woven  ivlnd. 
Zea  still  furnishes  silk."  "  The  women  of  Zea,"  says  Tournefort, 
"  gi'nerally  assemble  in  companies  to  spin  silk,  and  they  seat  themselves 
on  the  edge  of  the  terraces  at  the  top  of  the  houses,  that  they  may  drop 
the  spindle  down  to  the  street,  and  draw  it  up  again  as  they  wind  the 
thread.  In  this  attitude  we  found  the  Greek  bishop :  he  inquired  who 
we  were,  and  told  us  that  our  occupations  were  extremely  frivolous,  if 
we  came  only  to  look  for  plants  and  old  pieces  of  marble.  We  replied, 
that  we  should  be  much  more  edified  to  see  him  with  the  works  of  St. 
Chrysostom  and  St.  Basil  in  his  hand,  than  twirling  the  spindle." 

The  islaiad  of  Zea  or  Ceos  and  Cos  have  been  confounded  ;  the  latter 
is  200  miles  from  the  former  up  the  Levant.     TibuUus,  Horace,  and 


40  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

of  the  silk  worm  been  known  at  that  island,  the  source 
from  which  silk  is  derived  would  also  have  been 
known  at  Byzantium.  It  is  at  the  island  of  Cos, 
however,  that  not  only  the  marnifacture  of  silk  is 
reported  to  have  been  first  known  in  the  west,  but  of 
a  peculiar  species  of  it.  Pamphila  is  reputed  to  have 
been  the  inventress.  According  to  the  testimony  of 
Aristotle,  homhykiu*  was  respun  and  re  woven  at 
this  island.  The  imported  fabric  seems  to  have  been 
so  costly  as  to  form  an  inducement  to  Pamphila  and 
her  associates  to  unweave  the  precious  webs  in  order 
to  convert  the  substantial  stuffs  of  Serica  into  a  more 
extended  surface,  or  into  a  thin  transparent  gauze  ; 
and  thus  to  gain  in  measure  what  was  lost  in  sub- 
stance. This  Pamphilan  expedient  was  subsequently 
imitated  by  the  Roman  ladies,  amongst  whom  the 
foreign  article  seemed  to  have  been  one  of  increased 
value,  since  it  was  the  chains  only  of  their  rewoven 
fabrics  that  were  allowed  to  be  of  silk,  the  interstices 
being  filled  up  with  linen  or  cotton,  constituting  a 
sort  of  half  silk  stuffs.  Yet,  though  the  more  costly 
material  of  the  mixture  was  thus  attenuated,  it  did 
not  prevent  the  subsequent  outcry  against  it,  as  too 
extravagant  an  article  for  dress. 

For  centuries  Persia  seems  to  have  enjoyed  the 
monopoly  of  the  trade  with  India  and  China;  though, 
in  later  times,  it  is  reported,  that  caravans  were  pass- 
ing direct  from  the  coasts  of  China  to  Syria,  occupy- 
ing a  period  of  two  hundred  and  forty-three  days  in 
the  transit ;  whence  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  was 
further  transmitted  by  Arabs  and  Phoenicians  to  more 
western  parts.  Notwithstanding  all  this  intercourse, 
and  the  curiosity  that  interest  must  naturally  have 
excited  relative  to  the  origin  of  silk,  yet  it  appears, 
through  that  finesse  and  subtle  policy,  which  consti- 

others  make  Cos,  and  not  Ceos,  the  place  where  silk  gauze  was  an- 
ciently nianiifacturcd  ;  but  common  opinion  is  in  favour  of  Ceos,  and 
the  fact  that  the  business  is  still  carried  on  at  the  latter  place  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  is  strongly  in  its  favour. 

*  The  fabric  produced  from  the  Bombyx,  or  silk  worm. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  41 

tute  the  national  characteristic  of  the  Cliinese  to  the 
present  day,  the  western  part  of  Asia,  and  Europe, 
were  kept  in  profound  ignorance  on  this  important 
topic,  until  the  secret  was  elicited  by  stratagem  in  the 
sixth  century.  Notwithstanding  the  contumely  with 
which  the  character  of  Aristotle  has  been  treated  by 
those  who  never  either  read  him,  or  were  disposed  to 
make  candid  allowance  for  the  comparative  darkness 
of  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  he  appears,  in  the  in- 
vestigation of  truth,  even  as  to  the  silk  worm,  to  have 
been  on  the  advance,  not  only  of  his  cotemporaries, 
but,  for  800  years,  of  those  that  succeeded  him. 
It  was  fortunate  for  philosophy  that  his  influence,  as 
a  preceptor,  was  prevalent  with  Alexander.  In  con- 
formity to  his  advice,  he  took  out  with  him,  on  his 
Asiatic  expedition,  1000  men,  whose  exclusive  com- 
mission was  to  make  collections  in  the  several  depart- 
ments of  zoology,  and  to  transmit  them,  from  time 
to  time,  to  the  Grecian  naturalist :  to  which  were 
added,  on  the  return*  of  the  victorious  army  of  Alex- 
ander, amongst  other  eastern  luxuries,  wrought  silks 
from  Persia.  Aristotle,  therefore,  seems  to  have  been 
thus  enabled  to  give,  though  without  naming  the 
country  of  its  origin,  the  most  accurate  account  of  the 
silk  worm,  describing  it  as  a  horned  insect,  passing 
through  successive  transformations  and  producing 
bo7nbykia. 

Neither  does  Pliny  seem  to  have  been  unacquainted 
with  the  silk  worm,  though  his  description  diliers 
materially  from  that  of  the  Grecian  philosopher;  but 
of  its  use  he  evinces  a  total  ignorance,  since  he  affirms 
that  the  fabrics  unravelled  and  rewoven  by  the  Ro- 
man ladies,  were  the  proceed  of  a  woolly  substance 
combed  from  the  leaves  of  trees  to  form  the  draperies 
made  and  exported  by  the  Seres.    Assyria,!  however, 

•  A,  M.  3678.     B.  c.  326. 

"t"  Justin  relates  that  Sardanapalus  (a.  m.  778)  emperor  of  Assyria, 
never  left  his  palace,  but  spent  his  time  with  women  and  eunuchs 
spinning  with  thein  at  the  distaft'.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  late  period, 
when  the  use  of  the  mulbeiTy  and  silk  worm  was  known  at  Constan- 

4- 


42  HISTORY    or    SILK. 

he  assigns  as  the  country  indigenous  to  the  insect  he 
describes,  and  names  Ceos  (not  Cos)  an  island  of  the 
-ZEgean  sea,  as  the  seat  of  Pamphila,  and  the  singu- 
lar manufacture  of  which  she  was  the  inventress. 

With  the  exception  of  the  two  naturalists  already 
mentioned,  ancient  writers,*  for  nearly  nine  centuries, 
not  only  evince  complete  ignorance  relative  to  the 
origin  of  silk,  bat  also  betray  the  most  crude  concep- 
tions as  to  its  production.  At  one  time  it  was  ima- 
gined that  Sericum  was  made  either  from  fleeces 
growing  upon  trees,!  or  from  bark,  or  flowers ;  at 
another  that  the  silken  filament|  was  the  proceed  of 
a  species  of  spider  or  beetle.  A  strong  interest  must 
have  existed  somewhere  to  have  kept  the  whole  of 
this  a  secret ;  and  persevering,  indefatigable,  and  vigi- 
lant must  have  been  the  policy  to  have  maintained  it 
such  for  so  many  centuries.  Here  we  see  a  trait  of 
the  Chinese,  in  v/liich  they  stand  unequalled,  and 
without  a  parallel  in  any  other  nation. 

This,  together  with  other  circumstances,  will  enable 
us,  in  some  degree,  to  account  for  the  extreme  scarcity, 
for  many  centuries,  of  silk  in  Europe.  So  costly  was 
this  article  of  luxury,  that  all  knowledge  of  it  was 
chiefly  confined  to  Rome,  or  to  other  cities  of  princely 

tinople,  charity,  aided  by  this  account  of  Pliny,  would  have  inclined  us 
to  attribute  that  as  a  virtue  to  this  monarch,  especially  when  his  age  at 
the  time  is  considered,  which  has  been  commonly  imputed  as  a  vice ;  or 
to  suppose  that  he  and  his  attendants  were  engaged  at  that  period,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  in  the  laudable  pursuit  of  producing  silk  ;  and, 
therefore,  not  suitod  to  the  military  taste  of  Arbaces  governor  of  Media, 
and  affording  an  opportunity  to  the  rapacity  of  Belesis,  governor  of 
Babylon. 

*  Nearchus,  Aristobulus,  Theophrastus,  Virgil,  Dionysius,  Periegetes, 
Seneca,  Arrian,  Solinus,  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  Claudian,  Jerome,  &c, 

I  "  Vellera  ut  foliis  dcpcctant  tcnuia  Seres." — Virgil. 

I  "  I  have  long  entertained  the  idea  that  the  golden  fleece  which 
Jason  carried  from  Colchis,  was  a  cargo,  or  perhaps  only  a  skein  of  rich 
golden  coloured  raw  silk  in  the  hank,  which  might  figuratively  be  termed 
a  fleece,  because  it  was  to  he  twisted  into  thread  and  interwoven  into 
cloth.  This  at  least  is  as  plausible  as  the  commonly  received  solu- 
tion admitted  by  a  celebrated  historian  not  prone  to  credulity." — Note 
to  Martin's  Translation  of  the  Travels  of  Marco  Polo,  quoted  by  Dr. 
Lardncr. 


HISTORY    or    SILK.  43 

residence.  Before  the  reign  of  Augustus,*  theiie  is 
little  or  no  mention  of  it ;  and  its  use,  in  that  of  Ti- 
berius,! was  restricted  by  sumptuary  laws  to  women 
of  rank  and  fashion.  Though  this  prohibition  did 
not,  in  summer,  apply  to  the  use  of  the  lighter  fabrics 
of  Cos  by  the  men ;  yet  their  extreme  tenuity  or 
transparency,  as  an  article  of  apparel,  whether  worn 
by  men  or  women,  met  the  frowns,  though  with  but 
partial  success,  of  the  Roman  satirists^  for  more  than 
a  century. § 

Rome  was  at  this  time  rapidly  increasing  in  wealth, 
and  therefore  in  luxury.  The  demand  for  silk,  as  a 
consequence,  was  no  longer  commensurate  Avith  the 
scanty  supply,  and  the  price  became  exorbitant.  To 
obtain  relief,  or  a  more  direct  commercial  communi- 
cation, an  embassy,  by  way  of  Egypt  and  India,  was 
sent,  in  the  second  century,  by  Marcus  Antoninus.  || 
The  Chinese  annals  testify,  that  the  changeless  polity 
of  that  country  treated  then,  with  the  same  reserve, 
as  it  does  now,  all  applications  for  foreign  intercourse, 
except  through  channels  of  long  and  tried  fidelity. 
The  Persians,  therefore,  retained  for  centuries  the 
Indian  monopoly,  and  their  caravans  laden  Avith  its 
wealth  traversed  the  wilds  of  Asia  from  the  Celestial 
Empire  to  the  shores  of  Syria. 

Had  we  no  other  proof  that  this  state  of  things,  for 
some  time,  continued  on  the  increase,  that  relative  to 
the  Syrian  voluptuary  Heliogabalus,ir  would  be  suf- 
ficient ;  of  whose  extravagance,  after  the  Roman 
writers  have  mentioned  the  particulars,  they  add,  as 
a  climax  in  the  list  of  his  criminality,  that  he  wore  a 
holosericiim,  or  a  garment  altogether  made  of  silk. 

It  is  added  likewise  as  a  further  proof  to  the  same 

•    B.  C.  31.  f  A.  D.   14. 

^  Publius  Syrus,  Varro,  Tibullus,  Propertius,  Horace,  Seneca,  Pliny, 
and  Juvenal.     Pliny,  1.  xi.  c.  23.     Tacit.  Ann.  1.  ii.  c.  32. 

§  According  to  the  testimony  of  different  writers,  silk  was  not  un- 
frequently  seen  at  Rome  as  early  as  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  a.  d.  17. 
Galen,  a.  d.  173,  mentions  that  the  scarcity  of  silk  was  such  that  it 
could  be  worn  only  by  the  rich. 

B  A.  D.  177.  H  A.  D.  222. 


44  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

purpose,  that  Aiirelian*  assigned  as  a  reason  for  his 
refusing  his  empress  a  similar  hixury,  that  its  cost 
would  be  equal  to  its  weight  in  gold. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  the  advantage  which  this 
passion  for  dress,  that,  of  course,  accompanied  the 
Romans  to  Constantinople,  offered  to  the  Persians,  at 
that  time  in  the  unimpaired  possession  of  their  mono- 
poly. Neither  was  it  without  a  liability  to  disap- 
pointment to  the  Romans  on  the  one  liand,  and  to  the 
final  loss  of  the  trade  to  the  Persians  on  the  other. 
In  availing  themselves  of  the  advantage,  the  latter, 
either  by  the  exorbitant  prices  imposed  by  the  mer- 
chant, or  by  the  exactions  of  government,  evinced 
that  gross  indiscretion  which  was  ultimately  destruc- 
tive to  their  interest.  And  to  this,  when  there  was 
added  a  war  between  the  two  countries,  a  different 
mode  of  procuring  supplies,  became,  on  more  accounts 
than  one,  imperatively  necessary. 

A  war  with  the  Persians  occurring  in  the  reign  of 
Justinian  induced  that  monarch  to  obtain  supplies 
from  a  more  eligible  channel.  Through  a  defi- 
ciency of  the  requisite  experience  and  qualifications 
necessary  for  so  difficult  an  undertaking,  Elasbaan 
king  of  Axuma,  and  Esimipha?us  governor  of  the 
Homerites  in  Arabia,  to  whom,  for  this  purpose,  Justi- 
nian had  made  application,  failed  to  fulfil  their  en- 
gagement; and  silk,  in  consequence,  rose  at  Constan- 
tinople to  a  height  before  unknown.  This,  the  par- 
tial supplies,  usually  afforded  by  the  Phoenician 
manufacturers  would  have  considerably  relieved,  had 
not  Justinian  with  a  blind  rapacity,  that,  in  his  aim 
to  augment  the  revenue,  efiectually  defeated  itself, 
imposed  heavy  duties  on  the  importations,  which 
became  absolutely  prohibitory.!  In  consequence  the 
m-erchants  were  ruined,  the  scarcity  of  silk  was  equi- 
valent to  absolute  privation,  and  the  failure  of  a 

•  A.  D.  273. 

■f  The  nominal  price  of  silk  per  pound  at  this  time,  may  be  quoted 
as  equivalent  to  22'98,  which,  however,  was  but  trifling  to  the  real 
Value,  when  the  difference  of  the  times  is  considered. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  45 

revenue  whose  increase  was  contemplated  by  Justi- 
nian, was  a  practical  sarcasm  on  his  avarice. 

Thus  have  we,  in  the  history  of  silk,  arrived  at  a 
very  important  and  ever  memorable  crisis.  Silk 
was  produced  even  from  the  earliest  ages,  in  regions 
congenial  to  its  culture,  where  in  consequence  of  the 
blessings  it  confers,  the  inhabitants  proclaim  them- 
selves celestial,  but  assiduously  withhold  all  know- 
ledge from  what  the  benefit  is  derived.  An  insect, 
as  if  in  some  land  of  enchantment,  labours,  spins,  and 
dies;  and  without  leaving  itself  even  a  sarcophagus, 
bequeaths  its  house,  more  valuable  to  man  than  the 
proud  monuments  of  the  Egyptian  architect,  its  robe 
more  golden  than  Jason's  fleece,  and  all  its  estate,  by 
the  bale  and  cargo,  to  the  men  of  Hesperian  climes, 
who  know  not  either  of  its  existence,  nor  the  mystery 
of  its  operations.  The  elegance  of  the  fabrics  is  ad- 
mired by  all ;  Europe  invites  the  commerce  ;  a  diffi- 
culty unmanageable  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things 
occurs;  a  crisis  arrives ;  the  old  epoch  is  closed, 
and  a  new  era,  most  important  in  its  history  ar- 
rives. 

How  frequently  has  relief  come,  not  only  at  the 
moment  of  extremity,  but  by  the  most  unexpected 
means.  Justinian  failed  in  his  diplomatic  application 
to  the  Arabian  princes,  as  well  as  his  predecessor  had 
done  at  the  Chinese  court ;  and  his  very  attempt  to 
force  a  trade  was  the  means  of  its  almost  total  ex- 
tinction. But  how  could  it  have  been  foreseen,  that 
what  emperors,  ambassadors,  and  merchants  failed 
to  accomplish,  would  be  effected  by  means  so  unlikely 
as  by  two  comparatively  obscure  Nestorian  monks  ? 

The  preachers  of  the  doctrines  of  Nestor,  exiled  by 
the  government  of  Byzantium,  had  fled  to  India ; 
and  missions,  convents,  and  bishoprics,  by  their  pa- 
triarch resident  in  Persia,  had  been,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  Cosmas,  established  in  every  direction. 
Two  of  the  monks  penetrated  to  the  country  of  the 
Seres.  With  curious  eye  they  had  observed  the  dress 
of  the  Chinese;  the  manufactures  of  the  silken  fabric; 


46  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

and  the  millions  of  insects,  whose  education  was  the 
labour  of  queens,  converting  the  leaves  of  a  tree  into 
silk.  All  the  manipulations  requisite,  from  the  em- 
bryo state  of  the  little  animal,  to  the  production  of 
the  costly  material,  were  marked  with  intense  interest. 
The  secret  was  out!  two  monks  in  possession  of  it — 
the  knowledge  to  benefit  myriads  was  entrusted  to 
two — the  perils  in  traversing  a  vast  continent  were 
yet  to  be  encountered — a  risk  was  to  be  incurred — 
no  insurance  was  eft'ected,  but  that  of  Providence  : 
thus  all  was  safe  :  and  the  two  monks,  our  benefac- 
tors, bequeathed  a  mystery  hid  for  ages,  as  a  legacy 
to  a  western  hemisphere. 

Aware  of  the  solicitude  of  the  Europeans  on  this 
subject,  the  monks  repaired  to  Constantinople,  and 
revealed  to  the  emperor  the  secret  that  silk  was  pro- 
duced by  insects  whose  eggs  might  be  conveyed  to 
his  dominions.  Were  we  to  indulge  in  the  conjecture 
what,  most  naturally  on  such  a  momentous  occasion, 
was  the  pap?ion  chiefly  excited  in  Justinian,  at  this 
important  juucl are,  when  a  report,  than  which  none 
could  be  more  interesting  to  the  secular  concerns  of 
man,  was  first  announced  to  his  ears,  our  charity 
might  have  inclined  us  to  point  to  philanthropy,  had 
we  not  ascertained  the  character  of  the  man.  With 
him,  on  several  occasions,  self  was  a  universe,  and 
all  within  it  his  minions,  whose  interests  were  to  be 
consulted  precisely  to  the  point  where  they  served 
his  own.  By  the  promise  of  a  great  reward,  the 
monks  were  induced  to  return  to  China,  elude  the 
vigilance  of  that  jealous  people,  obtain  the  eggs,  and 
to  confine  within  the  narrow  precincts  of  a  hollow 
cane,  what  was  subsequently  to  create  machines  and 
factories,  fill  warehouses  and  ships,  and  become  in- 
exhaustable  mines  of  wealth  to  nations.  They  suc- 
ceeded ;  and  in  the  year  552,  they  were  in  Constan- 
tinople, and  their  cane,  like  Noah's  ark,  contained  a 
family,  whose  posterity  are  now  filling  regions  wider 
.than  those  peopled,  within  the  same  time,  by  Shem, 
Ham,  and  Japheth. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  47 

'''The  insects  thus  produced,"  says  Dr.  Lardner, 
"  were  the  progenitors  of  ail  tlie  generations  of  silli 
worms,  whicli  liave  since  been  reared,  in  Europe, 
and  the  western  parts  of  Asia;"— to  which  we  may 
now  add,  Africa  and  America — "  of  the  countless 
myriads  whose  constant  and  successive  labours  are 
engaged  in  supplying  a  great  and  still  increasing  de- 
mand. A  caneful  of  eggs  thus  became  the  means  of 
establishing  a  manufacture  which  fashion  and  luxury 
had  already  rendered  important,  and  of  saving  vast 
sums  annually  to  European  nations,  which  in  this 
respect  had  been  so  long  dependent  on,  and  obliged 
to  submit  to,  the  exactions  of  their  oriental  neigh- 
bours."* 

No  sooner  is  this  new  and  interesting  colony  in 
Europe,  than  the  avarice  of  Justinian  seizes  the  cra- 
dle of  the  infant  concern.  His  own  treasurer  had  the 
control,  the  monks  the  direction,  weavers  brought 
from  Tyre  and  Berytus  were  the  creatures  of  the 
monopoly,  and  his  became  the  prerogative  to  fix  the 
price  which  his  subjects  should  pay  for  the  indulgence 
of  their  vanity.  The  price  of  silk,  by  this  means, 
became  eight  times  more  expensive  than  before  the 
introduction  of  the  silk  worm :  an  ounce  weight  of  a 
fabric  of  common  colours  could  not  be  purchased  for 

*  The  authorities  quoted,  on  the  whole  of  this  part  of  the  subject,  by 
Dr.  Lardner  are,  Robertson's  Disquisitions  on  the  Commerce  of  India. 
D'Herbelot  Bibhoth.  Orient,  art.  Harir.  Procopius,  Hist.  Arcan ;  and 
de  Bello  Gothico,  1.  iv.  c.  17,  Theophan.  Byzant.  apud  Piiotium.  Theo- 
phylact.  1.  viii.  et  apud  Photium.  Zonaras,  vol.  iii.  p.  50,  edit.  1.5.57. 

"  The  eggs  were  hatched  in  the  proper  season  by  the  warmth  of 
manure,  and  the  worms  were  fed  with  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry.  In 
due  time,  they  spun  their  silk,  and  propagated  under  the  careful  atten- 
tion of  the  monks ;  who  also  instructed  the  Romans  hi  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  manufacturing  their  production." — Id. 

In  the  Silk  Grower  for  September,  1838,  it  is  addedj  that  the  monks 
"  brought  with  them  minute  instructions  for  hatchmg  the  eggs,  rearing 
the  worms,  reelmg,  spinning,  and  wea\-ing  the  silk.  But  they  made  but 
little  improvement.  Cocooneries  were  then  unknown ;  hurdles  and 
other  necessary  conveniences  not  thought  of.  The  worms  fed  on  the 
ground,  allowed  to  wind  their  balls  amongst  the  rubbish  of  six  weeks' 
collection;  and  then  reels  were  entirely  useless,  being  too  complicated 
to  be  used  except  by  rich  manufacturing  companies." 


48  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

.ess  than  six  pieces  of  gold,  but  the  royal  purple  was 
of  quadruple  value. 

Fortunately"  for  the  public  good,  the  oppressors  of 
mankind  live  not  for  ever:  Justinian  died;  and  the 
monopoly  ceased.  The  people  of  western  Asia  and 
Europeans  discovered  that  neither  the  mulberry  nor 
the  silk  worm,  wanted  either  Chinese  climes,  or  the 
care  of  a  Justinian  to  foster  them.  Mulberries  were 
planted  in  all  directions ;  and  the  insects  fell  to  work 
with  haste  as  eager,  as  if  they  had  never  known  that 
their  ancestors  had  been  silk  worms  royal  to  his 
highness  Justinian. 

After  the  death  of  the  emperor*  we  shall  find  the 
culture  and  manufacture  of  silk  transferred  to  Greece, 
especially  Peloponnesus,  and  to  the  cities  of  Athens, 
Thebes,  and  Corinth.  Soon  after  the  Venetians  en- 
tered on  commercial  relations  with  the  Grecian  em- 
pire, and  conducted  the  carrying  trade,  for  several 
centuries,  to  the  western  parts  of  Europe.  Such  was 
the  estimation  in  which  this  manufacture  was  then 
held,  as  appears  from  the  example  of  Charlemagne 
in  the  year  790,  sending  two  silken  vests  to  Offa  king 
of  Mercia,  that  it  was  considered  worthy  of  being 
made  a  regal  gift.  Greece,  notwithstanding  all  dis- 
couragement consequent  on  the  continued  and  rapid 
decline  of  the  Roman  empire,  continued  to  excel  all 
other  nations  of  Europe  in  the  quality  of  her  manu- 
factures. She  alone,  for  near  600  years,  possessed 
the  valuable  breed  of  silk  worms ;  soon  produced 
wrought!  silks  adequate  to  her  own  consumption  ;  a 
recourse  to  Persia  for  a  supply  ceased,  and  a  material 
change  took  place  in  the  intercourse  with  India. 

•  A.  D.  565. 

■j-  Modern  silks,  as  velvets,  damasks,  and  satin  remained  as  yet  un- 
known. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  49 


CHAPTER  III. 

SUBSEQUENT    HISTORY    OF    SILK, 

FROM  THE  PERIOD  WHEN  SILK  WORMS  WERE  FIRST  INTHODtTCED 
INTO  EUROPE,  CONTINUED  AS  TO  EACH  NATION  DISTINCTLY  ; 
china;  ARABS,  TARTARS,  TURKS;  TURKEY  AND  PERSIA;  HIN- 
DOOSTAN;    EGYPT. 

Having,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  pursued  our 
history  until  the  time  when  silk  worms  were  first  in- 
troduced into  Europe,  and  a  manufacture  commenced 
within  the  precincts  of  the  Greek  empire,  we  shall 
now,  since  the  subject  becomes  more  strongly  marked 
and  distinct,  consider  the  sequel  as  to  each  nation 
singly,  and  resume  our  inquiries  relative  to  China. 

The  silk  worms  had  arrived  from  India,  and  Gre- 
cian industry  had  been  employed  at  a  season  not  too 
early  to  render,  by  establishing  new  resources  in  the 
west,  European  admirers  of  the  silken  robe  independ- 
ent of  oriental  supplies  :  for  when  Canfu,  the  Chinese 
port  for  the  resort  of  foreign  merchants,  fell,  in  the 
year  877,  into  the  hands  of  the  savage  rebel  Baichu, 
he  not  only  massacred  all  the  inhabitants,  amongst 
whom,  it  is  reported,  there  were  120,000  merchants, 
comprising  Mohammedans,  Jews,  Christians,  and 
Persees,  but  also  extended  his  cruelty  to  the  very 
insects  on  whose  productions  the  natives  depended, 
destroyed  the  trees  necessary  to  their  existence,  and 
in  addition,  imposed  such  exactions  on  foreign  inter- 
course, that  the  Chinese  trade,  for  threescore  years, 
seems  to  have  been  completely  annihilated.  And  it 
did  not  recover,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Mas- 
soudi,  from  the  infernal  tempest  of  this  eastern  maniac, 
until  938,  when  Canfu  once  more  became  a  place  of 
mercantile  resort. 

5 


50  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

The  Venetian  nobleman  and  celebrated  traveller, 
Marco  Polo,  at  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
gave  to  the  world  one  of  the  most  interesting  accounts 
which  the  middle  ages  produced,  in  which  he  fur- 
nishes a  narrative  of  his  travels  in  the  Celestial  Em- 
pire, and  over  the  Asiatic  interior.  "  No  fewer,"  he 
says,  "than  1000  carriages  and  pack  horses,  loaded 
with  raw  silk,  make  their  daily  entry  into  the  city  ;* 
and  silks  of  various  textures  are  manufactured  to  an 
immense  extent."  Great,  rich,  and  crowded  cities, 
filled  with  manufacturers  of  silk  and  merchandise, 
covered  the  whole  extent  of  China.t 

We  are  all  aware  that  climate  is  a  matter  of  first 
importance,  in  the  growth  of  the  mulberry,  and  in 
the  raising  of  silk.  In  this  respect,  it  is  evident,  that 
China  is  particularly  favoured,  when  it  is  considered, 
that  the  latitude  of  her  metropolis,  Peking,  39^  54', 
about  3  miles  more  to  the  south  than  Philadelphia, 
may  be  quoted,  being  within  100  miles  of  the  great 
wall,  as  the  northern  extremity  of  her  silk  growing 
country,  which  thence  extends  to  the  south  as  far  as 
to  the  20th  parallel  of  north  latitude.  But  it  is  in 
her  central  provinces,  between  the  25th  and  35th  de- 
grees of  latitude  that  the  greater  part  of  the  silk  is 
produced. 

*  Cambalu,  then  the  name  for  the  royal  city. 

■j"  "According  to  Cosinas,  the  Indians  who  traded  with  the  Chinese, 
were  accustomed  to  resort  to  Ceylon,  where  alone  they  received  silks, 
spices,  and  other  valuable  productions,  which  were  thence  distributed 
among  the  different  marts  of  India.  Gibbon,  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
'  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,'  thus  describes  the  mode  of 
prosecuting  this  commerce  :  '  The  Chinese  and  Indian  navigators  were 
conducted  by  the  flight  of  birds,  and  periodical  winds,  and  the  ocean 
might  be  securely  traversed  in  square  built  sliips,  which,  instead  of  iron, 
were  sewed  together  with  the  strong  thread  of  the  cocoa  nut.  Ceylon, 
Serendip,  or  Taprobana,  were  divided  between  two  hostile  princes ;  one 
of  whom  possessed  the  mountains,  the  elephants,  and  the  luminous  car- 
buncle ;  and  the  other  enjoyed  the  more  sordid  riches  of  domestic  in- 
dustry, foreign  trade,  and  the  capacious  harbour  of  Trinquemale,  which 
received  and  dismissed  the  fleets  of  the  east  and  west.  In  this  hospita- 
ble isle,  at  an  equal  distance  from  their  respective  countries,  the  silk 
merchants  of  China,  who  had  collected  in  their  voyages,  aloes,  cloves, 
nutmegs,  and  sandal  wood,  maintained  a  free  and  beneficial  commerce 
with  the  iiiliabitants  of  the  Persian  Gulf.'  " — Dr.  Lardner,  p.  256,  note  I. 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  51. 

It  is  also  well  known  that  an  accurate  estimate  of 
temperature  cannot  always  be  made  by  inferring  the 
climate  of  one  place  from  that  of  another  of  the  same 
latitude  on  a  different  meridian,  without  referring  to 
the  isothermal*  lines.  The  eastern  shore  of  North 
America,  is,  in  this  respect,  so  similarly  situated  to 
the  same  shore  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  that  the  mean 
annual  temperature  of  any  given  degree  of  latitude 
on  our  Atlantic  shores,  will  be  found  very  nearly  to 
correspond  with  the  mean  annual  temperature  of  the 
same  degree  of  latitude  in  China  near  the  Pacific. 
China  also,  in  point  of  extent  of  surface  and  territory 
very  much  resembling  those  of  the  United  States,  it 
is  evident  that  we,  of  all  nations  under  the  sun,  have 
the  greatest  chance  to  equal  that  eminent  nation  as 
to  the  golden  fleece.  Nature  has  done  all  she  could 
do  for  us,  in  this  respect ;  will  a  sound  policy  and  a 
salutary  government  effect  the  rest  ? 

In  the  Washington  version  of  M,  Julien's  Transla- 
tion of  the  Summary  already  mentioned,  a  note  is 
given  from  M.  E.  Biot  on  this  subject,  as  it  refers  to  the 
temperature  of  this  vast  country  not  inaptly  termed  the 
silk  empire;  a  name  of  some  importance  to  us  should 
we,  so  similarly  circumstanced,  become  silk  empire 
the  second.  That  part  of  the  note  which  refers  to 
isothermal  relations,  as  in  this  respect  the  United 
States  are  correlative  to  China,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
quote ;  but  all  that  we  have  found  in  M.  Biot's  re- 
marks, said  to  be  derived  from  the  observations  of 
La  Perouse,  Amyot,  Lord  Amherst,  and  missionaries 
long  resident  there,  on  the  subject  of  mean  tempera- 
tures, we  have  reduced  from  the  ratio  of  the  centi- 
grade to  that  of  Fahrenheit,  as  stated  in  the  follow- 
ing table. 


*  Or  lines  of  equal  temperatures  in  different  latitudes  of  the  same 
hemisphere.  A  variation  etferted  cliiefly  by  the  prevalence  of  north- 
westerly wind,  sweeping  the  chilling  blasts  of  frozen  j)lains  on  the  north 
of  large  continents  to  their  eastern  shores.  So  that  the  western  extre- 
mity of  an  isothermal  line  will  be  from  10  to  15  degrees  more  to  the 
north,  liian  the  eastern  extremity  on  the  same  continent. 


52 


HISTORY    OP    SILK. 


3IEAN    TEMPEHATURES    IN    CHINA. 


North 
Latitude. 


39°  54' 
32°  45 
23°  8 
22°  12 


Cities. 


Mean 

Temperature 

of  the 

warmest 

month. 


Peking 

Nangasaki 

Canton 

Macao 


84-3 
86-9 


Mean 
Temperature 
of  the  year. 


54-8 
60-7 
73-2 
74-0 


Mean 
Temperature 
of  the 
coldest 
month. 


39-2^ 
43-7 

59-5 


We  regret  that  the  testimonies  adduced  do  not  en- 
able us  to  fill  our  columns,  and  prefer  leaving  the 
blanks  for  the  reader  to  supply  from  authentic  docu- 
ments. 

As  a  further  proof  that  any  latitude  in  the  United 
States  is  nearly  isothermal  with  the  same  latitude  in 

*  Some  error  is  suspected  here.     "  The  summer  at  Peking,"  says 

the  note,  "  is  hke  that  of  Naples,  whilst  the  mean  temperature  of  the 

coldest  month  is  4°  ;  and  the  thermometer  remains  there  for  3  months 

below  zero."     Now  M.  Biot's  temperatures  are  those  of  the  centigrade, 

4x9 
.  • . [-32=39°  2'  of  Fahrenheit,  the  mean  temperature  of  the 

coldest  month,  which  is  such  that  it  is  not  likely  to  be  for  3  months 
below  zero.  Yet  there  is  no  observable  discrepancy  between  that  mean, 
and  that  of  the  same  month  at  Nangasaki,  the  difference  of  latitude 
considered. 

We  further  extract  from  M.  Biot's  note  as  follows.  "In  1820,  at 
Timkowski,  in  Mongolia,  in  40°  to  45°  of  latitude,"  (same  as  from  the 
latitude  of  Philadelphia  to  that  of  the  southern  part  of  Maine,)  "  in  the 
month  of  October  and  November,  the  thermometer  descended  from  10° 
to  1.')°  below  zero  =  18°  to  27°  of  Fahrenheit."  A  French  missionary 
established  in  1833  in  East  Tartary,  at  Si-wang,  in  41°  39'  of  latitude, 
relates  extraordinary  dill'ercnces  between  the  temperature  of  summer 
and  winter.  According  to  him  the  thermometer  rises  to  37°  5'  centi- 
grades  in  summer  (99'.5  Fahrenheit)  and  descends  to  375  below  zero 
in  winter,  (67*5  Fahrenheit.)  "  During  this  last  season,"  say  the  An- 
nals of  the  Propagation  of  Faith,  Nos.  40  and  50,  "spirits  of  wine 
only  remaiu  liquid ;  and  when  a  metal  is  touched  with  moist  hands,  the 
epidermis  of  the  fingers  remains  attached  thereto."  In  conclusion,  a 
useful  remark  on  the  temperature  of  the  central  provinces  is  furnished 
us  by  a  misssionary  who  has  lived  10  years  in  China,  and  which  limits 
the  cultivation  of  the  orange  to  the  30th  degi'ee  of  latitude,"  (corres- 
ponding to  our  oranges  at  St.  Augustin,  hi  Florida,  latitude  also  30°,) 
"  while  in  Provence,  (France,)  we  have  oranges  as  high  as  the  43d 
degree." 


HISTORT    OP    SILK, 


53 


Cliina  on  a  meridian  equidistant  from  the  eastern 
shore,  and  that  for  any  season  of  the  year,  we  shall 
further  quote  the  following  examples.  Philadelphia 
is  in  the  same  latitude  as  Peking,  and  nearly  equi- 
distant from  an  eastern  sea.  The  mean  annual  teni' 
perature  of  the  former  is  53-7;  of  the  latter  54-S.  At 
Nangasaki,  latitude  32°  45',  and  at  Augusta  in 
Georgia,  nearly  in  the  same  parallel,  and  as  near  the 
eastern  sea  as  any  place  of  that  latitude  in  the  Uiiited 
States  of  which  we  have  any  thermometrical  record, 
the  comparison  may  be  stated  as  follows  : 


North 
latitude. 


Cities. 


■Where. 


Mean 

Temperature 

of  the 

warmest 

month. 


Mean 
Temperature 
of  the  year 


3Iean 
Temperature 

of  the 
coldest 
month. 


32°  45' Nangasaki  Kiusu 
32°  35' Augusta  ....U.  S. 


86-9 
S3-0 


60-7 
67-0 


43-7 
46-0 


The  differences  being  slight  are  referable  to  local 
causes.  This,  however,  is  sufficient  to  show  the 
striking  resemblance  of  the  climates  of  the  two  conn- 
tries.  The  subject  is  important:  China  long  has  been 
the  first  silk  growing  country  in  the  world;  our  fa- 
vours in  point  of  climate  are  equal;  in  other  respects 
greater;  and,  therefore,  whatever  the  Chinese  can 
eflect,  we  can  accomplish  likewise.  We  further  learn, 
that  the  raising  of  silk  worms,  commences  there  in 
April,  when  the  air  is  sufficiently  warm;  though  in 
the  more  northern  provinces,  the  development  is 
aided  artificially  by  heat.  The  cold  in  winter  in 
these  provinces  seems  very  rigorous,  yet  the  mulber- 
ries do  not  freeze. 

Du  Halde  says,  "Everybody  knows  the  abundance 
and  beauty  of  the  silk  made  throughout  China."  Dr. 
Lardner  adds,  "  the  ancients  showed  their  knowledge 
of  this  abundance,  when  they  called  it  the  kingdom 
of  silk;  and  the  moderns  know  it  from  experience. 
For  many  nations  both  of  Asia  and  Europe  draw 


64  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

from  it  the  superabundance  of  its  produce;  and  every 
year,  ships  and  caravans  leave  the  country,  laden 
with  vast  quantities  of  the  wrought  and  unwrought 
material.  Yet  although  thus  lavishly  sent  forth,  still, 
such  is  the  amount  produced,  that  silken  fabrics,  either 
of  the  simple  material,  or  mixed  with  gold  or  silver, 
are  consumed  throughout  the  empire  to  an  almost 
incredible  amount.  To  this  evidence  may  be  added 
the  many  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  wrought  and 
unwrought  silk  which  the  provinces  annually  pay  as 
tribute  to  the  emperor." 

The  largest  quantity  of  silk  in  China  is  produced 
about  the  neighbourhood  of  Nan-king,  or  the  latitude 
of  32°.  The  production  of  silk  fnrnishes  in  that  em- 
pire employment  to  a  greater  number  of  individuals 
than  any  other  avocation.  England  imports  a  vast 
quantity  of  both  raw  and  wrought  silks  from  China. 
The  amount  of  the  latter  kind,  being  brought  by  the 
East  India  Company's  ships,  is  not  known.  But  of 
raw  silk  only  from  China,  England  imported  in  the 
year  1829,  600,000  pound's  weight.  Dr.  Lardner 
observes,  that  "  fourteen  thousand  millions  of  ani- 
mated creatures  annually  live  and  die  to  supply  this 
little  corner  of  the  world  (England)  with  this  article 
of  luxury!  If  astonishment  be  excited  at  the  fact,  let 
us  extend  our  view  to  China,  and  survey  the  dense 
population  of  its  widely  spread  region,  a  population 
that  from  the  emperor  on  his  throne  to  the  peasant 
in  the  lowly  hut,  are  indebted  for  their  clothing  to 
the  labours  of  the  silk  worm  !" 

Thus  the  home  trade  of  China  is  encouraged,  and 
rendered  efficient,  whatever  may  become  of  the  foreign. 
If  the  home  trade  is  encouraged,  consumption  is  sup- 
ported; in  which  case  it  is  evident,  that  the  means  of 
the  artisan  and  operatives  of  all  kinds,  the  most  nu- 
merous class,  enable  them  to  obtain  not  only  the 
necessaries  of  life,  (agricultural  production,)  but  also 
proper  conveniences,  (manufactured  products.)  If 
vital  and  healthy  action  be  given  to  consumption  to 


HISTORT    OF    SILK.  55 

this  extent,  it  will  encourage  production  to  a  degree 
such  that  foreign  trade  will  be  nearly  a  national 
luxury,  or  something  not  essential  to  existence. 
Should  this  take  place  amongst  a  people  whose 
diversified  climates  and  soils  may  be  termed  om- 
niferous,  capable  of  bearing  all  things,  (like  ours, 
a  blessing  we  scarcely  yet  have  learnt)  it  places  their 
nation  in  the  predicament  of  the  independent  indivi- 
dual, who  spares  a  redundant  article,  merely  because 
he  does  not  want  it ;  though  on  the  other  hand  it  is 
no  inconvenience  to  keep  it.  Consequently  he  is  in- 
ditierent,  like  the  Chinese,  either  way ;  or,  if  he  has 
a  choice,  he  prefers  that  course  which  brings  in  specie 
instead  of  taking  it  out. 

To  be  independent,  as  far  as  possible  of  foreign 
supplies;  or,  in  other  words,  to  have,  of  products, 
more  to  give  than  it  is  necessary  to  receive,  except 
in  hard  cash,  is  a  desideratum  to  nations :  the  true 
Mexico.  And  wherever  practicable,  (as  with  ns,  if 
we  knew  it,)  will  illustrate  a  sound  and  salutary 
principle  in  political  economy.  A  nation  that  can 
have  all  her  resources  within  herself,  and  adopts  the 
policy  to  encourage  home  consumption  to  the  utmost 
extent  of  her  productive  energies,  proportioned  to  that 
consumption,  lays  the  firmest  foundation,  so  far  as 
secular  principles  go,  of  her  own  permanent  stability 
and  independence. 

ARABS,  TARTARS,  TURKS. 

The  introduction  of  the  silk  Avorms,  and  the  conse- 
quent manufacture  in  Europe,  produced  a  consider- 
able impression  on  the  demand  for  silks  from  China, 
which  was  increased  by  political  changes  then  rapidly 
taking  place  in  Asia.  But  notwithstanding  the  in- 
terruption of  the  caravans,  and  diminution  of  trade, 
in  the  sixth  century,  between  China  and  Persia,  in 
consequence  of  the  establishment  of  the  Turkish 
power,  we  have  a  proof,  in  what  manner  the  Per- 
sians appreciated  the  value  of  what  remains  of  their 


56  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

Chinese  intercourse  was  left  to  them,  in  the  example 
of  the  Sogdian*  ambassador,  sent  by  the  Turks  to 
Chosroes  king  of  Persia.  '  He  took  with  him  many 
bales  of  silk  for  sale,  and  requested  that  the  Sogdians, 
then  subject  to  the  Turks,  might  be  allowed  to  supply 
the  Persians  with  silk.  Chosroes  having  bought  the 
bales,  immediately  consumed  them  by  lire,  as  the 
only  answer  to  the  request:  an  argument  that  needed 
neither  mood  nor  figure  in  logic  to  prove  to  the  am- 
bassador that  the  king  thought  that  a  direct  convey- 
ance by  the  Persian  Gulf  would  be  more  beneficial 
to  his  subjects  than  to  give  up  the  trade  to  foreign 
carriers. 

The  Arabs  or  Saracens,  Tartars  and  Turks,  all  in 
their  turns,  participated,  not  in  the  producing,  but  in 
the  carrying,  of  the  silken  fleece.  On  this  account  it 
is,  as  well  because  of  their  nomadic  habits,  that  we 
see  them  not  in  the  orchard  or  plantation,  nor  in  any 
fixed  position,  but  in  the  desert  or  at  the  caravan,  as 
distant  objects  in  the  horizon  that  appear  for  a  while 
and  vanish.  We  therefore  look  for  a  new  order  of 
things,  which  we  now  find  in 

TURKEY  AND    PERSIA. 

"Turkey  supplies  England,"  says  Dr.  Lardner, 
"with  a  considerable  quantity  of  raw  silk.  Our  im- 
ports from  that  country  average  more  than  300,000 
pound's  weight  annually.  It  is  brought  to  us  from 
Aleppo,  Tripoli,  Sayda,  &.c.  but  Smyrna  is  the  prin- 
cipal port  of  commerce,  especially  for  the  silk  of 
Persia,  which  forms  a  great  part  of  that  which  is  im- 
ported from  Turkey.  The  silks  of  Persia  are  brought 
to  Smyrna  in  caravans  during  part  of  the  year,  i.  e. 
from  January  to  September.  The  caravans  dispatched 
in  January  are  laden  with  the  finest  silk,  and  the 
quality  is  found  to  deteriorate  with  each  following 
month.t     The  silk  of  Persia  comes  chiefly  from  the 

*  Ancient  Sogdia  was  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Sogd,  which  now 
washes  Samarcand. 

■j-  They  produce  silk  in  Persia  by  successive  monthly  crops. 


HISTORV    OF    SILK.  57 

provinces  of  Ghilaii  and  Shirvan,  and  the  city  of 
Schamachia,  situated  near  the  edge  of  the  Caspian 
sea.  It  is  said  that  in  some  years  no  less  than  30,000 
bales  of  silk  have  been  sent  from  these  three  places. 
The  produce  of  Ghilan  is  the  most  abundant  in  quan- 
tity, and  the  best  in  quality.  Shirvan  and  Erivan 
rank  next;  then  Mazanderan,  and  lastly,  Astrabad ; 
but  the  latter  is  so  inferior,  as  to  be  usually  employed 
in  forming  fabrics  intermixed  with  cotton.  It  is  sel- 
dom or  never  exported.  The  silk  from  these  different 
places  is  stored  at  Ardebil,  another  Persian  city, 
whence  caravans  set  out  for  Smyrna,  Aleppo,  Scan- 
deroon,  and  Constantinople." 

In  Turkey,  the  production  of  silk  is  confined  to 
cities  or  larger  towns,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which, 
the  mulberry  is  the  chief  object  of  cultivation,  whose 
proprietors  rear  not  the  worm,  but  vend  the  leaves 
daily  during  crop  season  in  the  market  in  such  quan- 
tities as  purchasers  require.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  season,  almost  every  family  clears  out  all  the 
rooms  in  the  house  except  one  in  which  they  live. 
The  worms  being  obtained,  they  purchase  leaves,  strew 
them  over  the  floor,  leaving  a  path  all  round  next 
the  walls,  and  placing  the  worms  thereon,  purchase 
for  the  next  day  or  days  the  requisite  quantity  of 
leaves,  and  so  on,  paying  no  attention  to  the  accu- 
mulation of  litter,  until  the  feeding  season  is  over. 
This  pile  of  stems,  offal,  leaves,  and  litter  frequently 
rises  to  3  or  4  feet;  over  which,  when  the  worms  seem 
inclined  to  mount,  they  place  branches  or  brush  wood 
for  their  accommodation,  leaving  them  to  find  their 
way  out  of  tb.e  labyrinth  as  well  as  they  can.  It 
doubtless  would,  in  several  cases,  be  profitable,  here, 
as  well  as  in  Turkey,  to  proprietors  of  mulberry 
trees  or  orchards  in  the  country,  near  cities  or 
markets,  to  vend  their  leaves  to  persons  residing  in 
the  town  having  apartments  not  convertible  to  a 
better  purpose.  To  the  former  it  would  be  a  source 
of  profit,  and  to  the  latter,  especially  to  the  infirm,  of 
lucrative  employment  not  obtained  by  other  means. 


58  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

But  the  Turldsh  senseless  mode  of  feeding,  is  to  be 
rejected  altogether.  The  principal  place  for  silk  in 
all  Asia  Minor  is  Broosa,  about  90  miles  to  the  south 
of  Constantinople.* 

HINDOOSTAN. 

We  are  not  furnished  with  any  evidence  to  esta- 
blish the  fact  that  the  Hindoos,  or  the  inhabitants  of 
any  part  of  peninsular  India,  were  at  an  early  period 
in  possession  of  the  mystery  of  producing  silk,  though 
we  have  reputable  testimony  to  inform  us  of  the  ex- 
istence of  an  ancient  military  class  in  Hindoostan, 
termed  Chinas,'\  who  migrated  towards  the  country 

*  Broosa,  sometimes  called  Brussa,  or  Bursa,  and  anciently  Prusa, 
from  Prusias  one  of  its  first  kings,  contains  about  100,000  inhabitants. 
It  is  a  beautiful  city,  and  a  place  of  considerable  trade  ;  four-fifths  of  its 
inhabitants  are  Osmanlis.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  Olympus,  a 
mountain  of  Bythinia,  which  covers  it  on  three  sides,  and  close  upon 
which  it  lies.  Its  principal  merchandise  is  silk,  which  constitutes  the 
chief  wealth  of  the  place. 

Broosa,  with  its  environs,  furnishes  in  the  course  of  a  favourable  year, 
a  crop  of  from  7000  to  8000  bales  of  all  kinds  of  silk  from  the  finest  to 
the  very  coarsest.  The  manufactories,  such  as  they  are,  are  spread  all 
over  the  city,  but  there  is  nothing  that  can  be  called  a  factory.  The 
weaving  is  all  done  by  job  work,  at  so  much  a  peake  for  a  measm^e 
about  three  quarters  of  a  yard  ;  and  these  stuffs,  so  remarkable  for  beauty, 
are  woven  in  miserable  little  rooms,  only  large  enough  to  contain  the 
loom  and  the  weaver,  or  two,  as  the  case  requires. 

When  the  figure  is  plain  or  striped,  a  man  or  boy  alone,  is  sufficient 
for  the  purpose ;  but  when  flowered,  it  requires  a  man  and  a  boy  ;  one 
to  weave  and  the  other  to  work  with  bobbins  in  a  manner  to  me  incom- 
prehensible, but  whicli  he  could  manage  with  his  eyes  shut  as  well  as 
open.  These  beautiful  silks  are  woven  by  miserable,  half  starved 
wretches,  at  a  gain  of  not  more  than  throe,  and  sometimes  only  one, 
piastre  (six  cents)  a  day.  But  the  abundance  of  the  country  is  said  to 
be  such  that  the  cravings  of  nature  may  be  satisfied  for  a  para,  one- 
fortieth  of  a  piastre,  a  day. 

Broosa,  like  most  of  the  places  in  Turkey,  is  surrounded  by  planta- 
tions of  mulberry  trees  for  the  use  of  the  silk  worm ;  with  the  limbs  of 
which  asses  laden  may  be  seen  every  instant  going  to  the  city.  These 
trees  are  planted  in  rows,  not  more  than  2  or  3  feet  apart,  and  arc  ke[)t 
so  low,  that  a  man  can  reach  the  top  limbs,  which  are  all  cut  down 
every  year  as  the  worms  require  them. — Extracted  clilejly  from  the 
correspondence  of  Messrs.  lihind  4-  Partir  in  the  Silk  Culturist. 

^  See  also  the  learned  volumes  of  Dr.  Vincent  on  the  Commerce  and 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  59 

now  occupied  by  the  Chinese,  who  from  their  earliest 
existence  seem  to  have  been  engaged  in  the  success- 
ful development  of  both  the  raw  and  wrought  mate- 
rial. The  thousand  collectors  also  that  accompanied 
Alexander's  expedition  to  the  Indus,  delegated  to 
transmit  specimens  in  Natural  History  to  the  Grecian 
philosopher,  were,  as  well  as  the  army,  successful  in 
sending  to  Aristotle,  not  only  the  worms,  but  also  their 
product.  This  added  to  the  additional  circumstance 
quoted  by  Gibbon  in  the  "  DecUne  and  Fall,"  that 
the  Indians  and  Chinese  had  anciently  constant  com- 
mercial intercourse  at  Trincomalee,  affords  the  pre- 
sumption that  amongst  the  ancient  Hindoos  there  \vas 
not  a  complete  ignorance,  as  to  theory  of  the  subject, 
but  that  the  Chinese  being  more  successful  in  the 
manipulation,  both  as  to  the  raw  and  wrought  mate- 
rial, were  then,  as  they  have  continued  to  be  since, 
in  possession  of  the  practice. 

That  the  entire  of  both  processes,  the  production 
and  the  manufacture,  are,  in  India,  now  successfully 
in  the  hands  of  the  moderns,  the  East  India  Company, 
is  well  known.  Every  thing,  in  short,  must  have  in- 
vited it  there  ;  the  soil,  the  climate  of  India,  and  above 
all  the  cheapness  of  labour.  These  not  only  origi- 
nally gave  the  invitation,  but  subsequently  completed 
the  success.  The  island  of  Cossimbazar,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Bengal,  possesses  every  advantage  suitable 
to  the  wants  and  labours  of  the  silk  worm.  There 
have  been  a  considerable  increase  in  the  quantity  and 
improvement  in  the  quality  of  the  raw  silk  produced 
since  1760,  in  the  territories  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany. 

Dr.  Lardner  says, "  There  are  eight  principal  silk  fila- 
tures or  factories  belonging  to  the  company  in  Bengal. 
In  every  filature  are  employed,  according  to  its  size, 
from  3000  to  10,000  people  ;  and  if  to  these  be  added 
the  mulberry  planters,  worm  feeders,  &:c.  the  number 
dependent  on  each  establishment  may  be  stated  at 

Navigation  of  the  Ancients,  and  Dr.  Robertson's  Historical  Disquisitions 
concerning  Ancient  India. 


60  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

from  10,000  to  40,000  men,  women,  and  children. 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  the  silk  worm 
into  other  parts  of  the  Company's  possessions,  especi- 
ally on  the  coast  of  Coromandel."  Dr.  James  An- 
derson introduced  mulberry  trees  at  Madras.  In  the 
year  1789  his  success  engaged  several  persons  on 
different  parts  of  the  coast,  Palamcotta,  Masulipatam, 
Trichinopoly,  and  elsewhere,  to  the  extent  of  600 
miles  along  the  coast. 

It  does  not  appear  that  raw  silk  was  produced  in 
India,  prior  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
with  any  view  to  immediate  exportation.  The  little 
that  then  found  its  way  to  the  English  market,  through 
a  defect  in  the  filature  or  from  some  other  cause,  was, 
in  value,  worth  not  more  than  from  one-third  to  one- 
half  of  that  of  Italian  silk.  To  obviate  this,  proper 
machinery  and  competent  persons  were  sent  for  the 
establishment  of  filatures,  or  silk  winding  factories  on 
the  Italian  system.  After  this  we  find  improvement 
both  in  quantity  and  quality.  In  1776,  the  shipments 
from  Bengal  amounted  to  515,913  pounds,  and  during 
ten  years,  from  1776  to  1785,  the  average  importa- 
tion in  England  is  quoted  at  560,283  pounds.  The 
amount  continued  to  advance  progressively.  About 
10  years  since  tlie  average  annual  import  of  Bengal 
silks  was  1,500,000  pounds. 

In  point  of  quality,  prior  to  1794  Bengal  silk  was 
thought  applicable  only  to  a  very  limited  number  of 
uses,  and  accumulation  in  the  warehouses  of  the  East 
India  Company  was  the  consequence.  Their  com- 
mittee, therefore,  advised  that  a  portion  of  their  stock 
should  be  converted  into  organzine  by  the  silk  throws- 
ters of  the  country.  The  experiment  tended  to  lessen 
the  prejudice  against  Bengal  silk,  and  render  the  trade 
less  dependent  on  Italy,  whence  the  greatest  part  of 
the  organzine  was  brought.  From  that  time  the  im- 
portations of  Bengal  silk  have  been  progressively 
improving  in  quality,  and  the  organzine  made  from 
it  has  grown  into  favour,  until  it  now  ranks  nearly 
at  par  with  Italian  organzine.   In  France^  Italy,  and 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  fit 

Turkey,  there  is  but  one  o'egular  annual  crop,  while 
in  Bengal  there  are  three,  at  intervals  of  four 
months;  in  March,  July,  and  November.^ 

EGTPT.t 

Neither  is  it  to  the  land  of  Pyramids  that  we  look 
so  much  for  the  vestiges  of  the  early  culture  of  silk, 
as  for  those  architectural  remains  compared  with 
whose  dimensions  the  proud  monuments  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome  are  insignificant.  But  Egypt  is 
rapidly  rising  as  to  the  arts  and  products  of  useful 
industry;  and  the  people  of  the  fertile  valley  of  the 
Nile,  that  on  a  sudden  emergency  can  command  the 
labour  of  250,000  men  to  cut  a  canalf  of  4S  miles  in 
6  weeks,  can  now  produce  six  miUion  pounds  of 


•  "  Bengal  raw  silk  is  distinguished  by  two  appellations — country 
wound,  and  filature ;  the  former  being  furnished  by  native  adventurers, 
who  can  employ  none  but  the  rudest  methods  for  winding  it ;  while  the 
latter  is  produced  by  senants  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  treated 
according  to  the  most  approved  European  methods. 

"  Ditferent  degrees  of  lineness  or  coarseness  are  denoted  in  the  Com- 
pany's iilatures  in  Bengal  by  the  letters  A,  B,  C  ;  silk  of  4  to  5  cocoons 
is  called  A  IVo.  1 ;  of  6  to  8  cocoons  B  No.  2 ;  of  12  to  14,  and  16  to 
18  cocoons  B  No.  3  ;  of  18  to  20  cocoons  C  No.  1 ;  of  20  to  22  cocoons 
C  No.  2 ;  of  22  to  24  cocoons  C  No.  3.  The  silk  which  the  natives 
reel  by  hand  is  much  inferior,  and  is  marked  by  the  letters  A,  B,  C,  D, 
E.  It  must,  therefore,  be  understood  that  the  A  No.  1  silk  of  one 
district  in  India  will  differ  very  materially  in  quality  from  that  of  an- 
other district,  though  bearing  the  same  distinctive  letter  and  number. 
Even  the  filature  wound  silks  of  different  districts  are  subject  to  the 
same  difference  of  quaUty.  Thus,  Bauleah  filature  is  inferior  to  Rad- 
nagore  or  Cossimbazar  filature,  which  again  are  excelled  by  the  produce 
of  Gonatea  and  Comercoliy.  In  the  last  mentioned  of  these  filatures, 
through  the  scientific  skill  and  energy  of  the  East  India  Company's  re- 
sident, a  system  has  lately  been  adopted  of  giving  the  necessary  degree 
of  heat  to  the  cocoons  while  being  wound,  by  means  of  steam;  and 
both  the  arrangement  and  execution  of  the  plans  for  this  purpose  speak 
very  favourably  for  the  talents  of  the  parties  employed,  when  the  re- 
moteness of  the  situation,  and  the  consequent  difficulties  and  obstacles 
to  be  surmounted  are  taken  into  account." — Dr.  Lardner. 

\  E-Gopt  the  land  of  the  Copt. 

i  The  canal  of  Nahmoudieh,  opened  in  1819,  connecting  Alexandria 
with  the  Nile  at  Fouah,  48  miles  long,  90  feet  broad,and  18  feet  deep. 

6 


62  HISTOKY    OP    SILK. 

cotton*  annually;  and  in  addition  to  the  successful 
culture  of  the  vme,  the  olive,  and  the  sugar  cane, 
have  now  turned  their  attention  to  thatof  *«7/t.  Mr. 
Russel  informs  us,  in  his  interesting  volume  on  An- 
cient and  Modern  Egypt,  that  "  In  the  valley  of 
Tumulaut,  the  ancient  land  of  Goshen, \  is  established 
a  colony  of  five  hundred  Syrians  for  the  purpose  of 
cultivating  the  mulberry  and  fearing  silk  worms ; 
while  in  the  beautiful  province  of  Fayoum,J  the  vine 
and  the  olive  are  again  approaching  that  perfection 
which  they  once  enjoyed,  and  for  which  the  genial 
climate  of  Egypt  appears  so  well  calculated." 

Nothing  can  so  strikingly  illustrate  the  wonderous 
effects,  almost  miraculously  so,  that  may  be  accom- 
plished by  a  good  government,  even  in  one  genera- 
tion ! — ought  we  not  rather  to  say,  hy  a  government^ 
that  Providence  deigns  to  bless  ?  Egypt  was  lately 
a  desert :  feuds,  distractions,  and  civil  wars,  worse 
than  locusts,  bats,  and  simooms,  desolated  the  coun- 
try; but  such  is  the  inflexible  decision  to  suppress  the 
evil,  and  prompt  energy  to  encourage  industry,  of  the 

*  "  M.  Jumel  discovered  one  day,"  as  we  are  informed  oy  Mr.  Russel, 
"  in  the  garden  of  a  Turk  called  Make,  a  plant  of  the  cotton  tree,  which 
he  afterwards  propagated  with  so  much  skill  and  success,  as  to  have 
changed  the  commerce  and  statistics  of  Egypt.  Jumel  erected  at  Bou- 
lak,  a  superb  establishment,  equal  in  its  structure  to  the  finest  European 
manufactory  for  spinning,  weaving,  dying,  and  printing  of  cotton  goods. 
The  latest  improvements  in  machinery  were  borrowed  from  Europe ; 
steam  is  the  principal  moving  power,  and  gas  is  employed  for  the  pur- 
poses of  artificial  light.  At  Siout  Mr.  Webster  found  a  cotton  manu- 
factory in  full  operation.  It  gave  employment  to  800  men  and  boys 
who  earn  10,  15,  20,  or  30  paras  and  sometimes  three  piastres.  Cotton 
factories  are  by  no  means  uncommon  in  Egypt." 

Mr.  Russel  says,  "  It  is  very  probable  the  quantity  of  cotton  which 
may  be  raised  in  Egypt  will  at  no  distant  period  equal  the  whole  im- 
portation from  America  !"  It  is  time  then  that  we  should  be  looking 
after  silk. 

-j-  Between  the  Nile  and  Suez  at  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  east  of 
the  ancient  Memphis,  Pharaoh's  city,  which  was  10  miles  south  of  the 
site  of  the  present  Cairo. 

t  About  40  miles  south  of  Cairo,  on  the  west  of  the  Nile. 

§  We  could  wish  that  this  should  be  fully  understood  by  the  govern- 
ments of  the  present  day,  who  seem  to  think  that  no  politics  should  be 
put  ofl"  so  late,  as  those  of  Him  that  made  them. 


HISTOKY    OF    SILK.  63 

Pasha,*  whose  portrait  is  now  before  us,t  that  Egypt, 
the  late  desert,  is  a  garden  that  blossoms  as  the  rose; 
and  her  agriculture,  her  commerce,  her  caravans,  her 
ships,  are  growing,  moving  to  the  south,north,  east,  and 
west.  Like  her  river,  her  redundance  is  overflowing, 
and  Africa, Europe,  and  Asia  are  partaking  the  benefit. 
The  Pasha  can  now  not  only  supply  wax,  hides, 
cofiee,  myrrh,  frankincense,  coculus  indicus,  asafoetida, 
ivory,  rhinoceros  horn,  tortoise  shell,  sal  ammoniac, 
senna,  tamarinds,  ostrich  feathers,  balsam  of  Mecca, 
gum  arabic,  gum  copal,  benzoin,  aloes,  coloqnintida, 
gum  ammoniac,  galbanum,  opoponax,  spikenard, 
musk,  gold  dust,  gt-am,  but  also  cotton  and  silk  to 
those  who  either  cannot  or  ivill  not  raise  them  for 
themselves. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

•EUROPE. 

SECTION  I. 

Naples,  Calabria,  Sicily ;  Italy,  Venice,  and  Genoa. 

No  satisfactory  reason,  as  yet  has  been  assigned 
to  account  for  a  tardiness  in  the  dissemination  of  the 
knowledge  of  silk  culture,  such  that  it  was  confined, 
after  its  first  introduction  into  Europe,  to  Greece 
until  the  demolition  of  the  Greek  empire,  or  for  600 
years.  And  mankind  first  became  indebted  for  the 
further  extension  of  that  knowledge  to  means,  on 
common  principles  not  apparently  justifiable.     For 

•  This  trait  is  here  considered  abstractedly  from  his  former  character. 

•j-  Kussel's  A'^iew  of  Ancient  and  Modem  Egypt,  chapter  viii.  In 
reaiding  the  volume  through,  there  will  be  instruction  and  entertainment 
without  disappointment. 


64  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

Roger,  the  Norman  king  of  Sicily,*  invaded  the 
Grecian  countries,  a.  d.  1146,  carried  off  the  treasures 
of  Athens,  Tliebes,  and  Corinth,  led  into  captivity  a 
number  of  silk  weavers,  and  thus  severing  them  from 
the  natural  ties  of  country  and  relationship,  con- 
strained them  to  settle  at  Palermo  and  Calabria, 
both  then  within  the  kingdom  of  Naples  possessed 
by  the  Norman  family,  to  conduct  the  cocoonery, 
filature,  and  manufacturing  processes  about  to  be 
established,  by  rapine  and  compulsion,  in  the  domi- 
nions of  Sicily.  In  twenty  years,  considerable  ex- 
cellency was  attained  under  the  instruction  of  the 
Greeks;  and  silks  of  diversified  colours,  some  inter- 
woven with  gold,  others  adorned  with  figures  or  em- 
bellished with  pearls  were  produced :  but  the  dying 
in  high  colours,  is  said  to  be  a  later  discovery. 

From  that  time  to  the  present  the  policy  of  that 
country  has  encouraged  the  manufacture,  and  it  is 
esteemed  there,  in  importance,  as  an  agricultural 
product  next  to  corn.  A  company  invested  with 
privileges  for  erecting  manufactories  of  silks,  stufis, 
and  camblets  was  established  in  1752  by  the  king  of 
Naples.  The  annual  average  of  silks  exported  from 
Sicily  is  quoted  at  the  value  of  y^  1,087,500.  There 
are  90  J  looms  at  Palermo,  1200  at  Messina,  and  a 
greater  number  at  Catania.  Of  what  is  exported,  the 
greater  part  is  to  the  Levant,  and  but  little  to  the 
English  market.  It  is  defective  in  reehng,  dying, 
and  sorting :  the  length  of  its  skein  also  differing  from 
the  general  importations,  is  inconvenient  to  the 
throwster,  and  the  quality  of  its  filament  is  not  suit- 
able to  the  general  purposes  of  the  manufacturer.! 

ITALV,  VENICE,  AND  GENOA. 

The  provinces  of  the  Greek  empire,  which  were 

*  After  his  return  from  the  Second  Crusade. 

■j-  Finizio,  the  celebrated  manufacturer  at  Naples,  makes  and  sends 
to  the  New  York  market,  at  the  rate  of  3000  lbs.  of  sewing  silk  a  week. 
—Silk  Cul.,  vol.  i.  p.  133. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  65 

the  principal  seats  for  the  production  of  silk,  coming, 
in  the  year  1203,  into  the  possession  of  the  Venetians; 
and  Galata  into  that  of  the  Genoese,  lead  to  the  pre- 
sumption that  they  would  not  fail,  under  such  favour- 
able circumstances,  to  transfer  to  their  equally  con- 
genial climates  the  means  for  the  prosecution  of  a 
concern  so  lucrative  as  that  of  silk.  There  are  few 
or  no  authentic  records  relative  to  the  introduction 
of  silk  into  any  other  part  of  Italy  before  the  year 
1300.  At  Venice  encouragement  was  given  by  the 
government  and  the  wealthy.  The  production,  there- 
fore, and  the  manufacture  of  silk  were  considered  to 
be  tioble  employments,  the  pursuit  of  which  implied 
no  degradation  of  rank.  In  1300,  Florence  was  the 
principal  place  for  the  manufacture,  which  at  that 
time  employed  many  thousand  people.  In  the  year 
1306,  the  rearmg  of  silk  worms  had  become  of  so 
much  importance  at  Modena,  as  to  yield  a  revenue 
to  the  state,  and  its  silk  was  then  esteemed  to  be  the 
best  in  Lombardy.  But  until  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  Bologna  was  the  only  city  of  Italy 
in  possession  of  throwsting  mills  or  machinery  re- 
quisite for  preparing  the  silken  fabrics  for  weaving. 

The  average  amount  of  silk  annually  exported  from 
Italy  is  computed  to  exceed  §17,500,000.  Count 
Dandolo  says  that  two-thirds,  in  amount,  of  all  the 
exports  from  Italy  are  silks.* 

*  "  Though  there  are  silk  factories  in  Italy,  yet  the  greater  part  of 
fabrics  are  domestic  manufacture,  managed  much  in  the  same  way  as 
cotton  was  in  this  country  before  the  introduction  of  power  looms.  The 
manufacturer  purchases  the  silk  of  the  grower,  reeled  suitable  for  such 
fabrics  as  he  wishes  to  make,  prepares  it  for  the  loom  by  dying,  warp- 
ing, &c.,  and  then  puts  it  out  to  the  weaver,  who  weaves  it  in  a  hand 
loom  and  returns  it.  Afterwards  it  is  finished  and  put  up  for  market." 
— SUk  Cul.,  vol.  i.  p.  13. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  observe,  that  the  power  loom  is  nowhere  used 
in  Europe  in  the  manufacture  of  silk.  The  first  silk  ever  wrought  by 
power  loom  was  recently  made  in  Rhode  Island  by  Mr.  Gay.  But  the 
quantity  made  has  been  small — enough,  however,  to  assure  us  that 
when  the  material  can  be  supplied  in  the  necessary  quantity,  this  me- 
thod of  manufacturing  that  article  will  be  adopted. 


66  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 


SPAIN,  PORTUGAL,  AND   THE   NETHERLANDS. 

It  is  well  known  that  during  the  middle  ages, 
literature  and  the  arts  were  almost  universally  neg- 
lected. Such  barbarian  influence  had  invaded  civil- 
ized nations,  and  so  great  a  cloud  had  covered  the 
earth,  that  for  ages  we  find  the  Arabs  chiefly  signal- 
ized for  a  knowledge  of  what  remained  of  art  or 
science,  and  for  attention  to  agriculture,  manufacture, 
and  commerce.  For  an  acquaintance  with  these,  it 
was  to  the  Arabs  or  Saracens,  their  conquerors,  that 
Spain  and  Portugal  were  indebted.  Bishop  Otto  de 
Freysingen  speaking  of  the  great  progress  which  silk 
manufactures  had  made  in  Spain,  relates  that,  "after 
the  siege  of  Milan,  Frederick  I.,  held  a  diet  of  the 
empire  in  1158,  in  the  fields  of  Roncaglia,  at  which 
were  present,  in  magnificent  attires,  the  ambassadors 
of  the  Genoese,  who  recently  had  conquered  from  the 
Saracens,  two  important  cities,  Lisbon  and  Almeria, 
both  famous  on  account  of  their  manufactures  of 
silk.'* 

It  appears  from  a  work  that  Marino  Sanuto,  a  noble 
Venetian,  commenced  in  the  year  1306,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  pope  in  1321,  entitled,  "the  Secrets  of 
the  Faithful,"  complaining  of  certain  exactions  im- 
posed, during  the  whole  of  that  time,  on  the  European 
trader,  in  ports  subject  to  Mohammedan  princes,  par- 
ticularly as  to  silk  and  sugar,  that  Apulia,  Romania, 
Sicily,  Crete,  and  Cyprus  were  then  signalized  for 
the  production  of  the  former.  In  addition  to  which 
we  find  mention  made  of  Lisbon,  Mnieria,  Granada, 
Murcia,  Cordova,  and  Majorca,  as  places  engaged 
in  the  culture  very  early  after  the  introduction  of  silk 
worms  into  Sicily.  We  are  also  informed  that  "  when 
Ferdinand  V.  conquered  Granada,  a.  d.  1492,  and 
put  an  end  to  the  Moorish  power  in  Spain,  he  found 
there  numerous  establishments  for  the  production  of 
silk  fabrics,  which  were  rivalled  by  others  in  Murcia 
and  Cordova." 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  67 

This  evidently  implies  that  the  Saracens  were  they, 
who  were  then  principally  employed  in  this  culture. 
Although  the  first  body  of  these  primeval  wanderers 
that  entered  Spain,  crossed  the  straits  from  Maurita- 
nia, A.  D.  712  ;  yet  we  find  that  others  inhabited 
Sicily  from  a.  d.  828  until  they  were  finally  driven 
from  thence  a.  d.  1272.  And  it  was  there,  doubtless, 
that  the  Saracens  first  acquired  the  necessary  know- 
ledge as  to  the  rearing  of  silk  worms.  On  their  ex- 
pulsion from  Sicily,  a  transit  to  Majorca  and  Spain 
would  be  easy  ;  to  which  a  knowledge  of  the  success- 
ful establishments  there  of  other  tribes  from  the  same 
progenitor,  and  of  the  same  faith,  would  be  an  ad- 
ditional inducement. 

Though  since  the  above  period,  Spain  has  not  been 
as  eminent  as  other  nations,  either  as  a  silk  growing 
or  manufacturing  country,  yet  an  attention  as  steady, 
though  comparatively  stationary,  has  been  devoted 
to  these  concerns,  as  that  want  of  both  agricultural 
and  commercial  enterprise,  for  which,  through  poli- 
tical, not  physical  circumstances,  that  nation  is  cha- 
racterized, would,  perhaps,  allow.  Therefore,  under 
this  comparative  dearth  of  interest,  as  to  the  culture  in 
Spain,  we  shall  pass  to  countries  whence  we  may  derive 
more  information,  contenting  ourselves  with  observ- 
ing, "  en  passant,"  that  it  was  to  Spain,  that  Henry  II. 
was  indebted  for  the  silk  stockings  he  wore,  and 
which  in  his  day  attracted  such  extraordinary  notice. 
Henry  VIII.,  as  well  as  Edward  VI.,  Avere  likewise 
supplied  from  that  country  with  the  same  article  for 
their  personal  use.  We  also  learn,  that  not  long  after 
the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when 
France,  over  and  above  her  own  production,  imported 
yearly  4800  bales  (each  weighing  160  lbs.)  of  silk; 
of  these  300  bales  were  annually  imported  of  Spanish 
manufacture. 

Though  Spain  and  the  Netherlands  were  subject 
to  one  crown  in  the  person  of  Charles  V.,  yet  it  was 
to  France  first,  though  to  Spain  subsequently,  that 
the  Netherlands  w^ere  indebted  for  their  knowledge 


68  HISTORY    or    SILK. 

of  the  mysteries  of  the  silken  fabric.  On  the  subject 
of  the  trade  at  Antwerp,  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  Guicciardini  has  given  us  the  following  tes- 
timony. "  The  merchants  of  Antwerp  exchanged  at 
Bologna  their  own  serges  and  other  stufls,  tapestries, 
linens,  merceries,  &c.  for  wrought  silks,  cloth  of  gold, 
silver  crapes,  &c.  To  Venice,  they  sent  jewels,  pearls, 
and  the  cloth  and  wool  of  England,  and  received  in 
return,  tha  finest  and  richest  wrought  silks,  &c.  Na- 
ples took  from  them  cloths  of  their  own  and  English 
manufacture,  and  returned  raw,  thrown,  and  wrought 
silks.  Sicily  obtained  from  them  serges  and  cloth, 
paying  in  cotton  and  silk.  The  consignments  to 
Milan  were  pepper,  sugar,  &c. ;  the  returns  were 
wrought  silks.  To  Florence  and  Genoa,  woollen 
stuffs  and  English  wool ;  and  the  imports  from  the 
first  of  these  places  were  very  fine  wrought  silk,  and 
from  Genoa,  satins  and  velvets." 

History,  by  a  thousand  examples,  everywhere  testi- 
fies that  the  industrious  energiesof  man  will  advance  in 
the  uninterrupted  career  of  prosperity,  only  in  climes 
blessed  with  peace  and  freedom  from  internal  war 
and  political  distraction.  Flanders  ere  this  had  ranked 
high  as  one  of  those  favourable  regions  where  com- 
merce has  fixed  her  seat,  had  not  the  desolating  pest 
of  war  blasted  the  growth  of  ages,  and  driven  what- 
ever was  likely  to  benefit  man  to  more  peaceful 
shores,  the  three  days  indiscriminate  plunder  and 
destruction  to  which  Antwerp  was  subject  in  1585, 
by  the  duke  of  Parma,  then  governor  of  the  Spanish 
Netherlands,  was  a  blow  to  the  commerce  of  the  Low 
Countries,  from  which  they  have  never  since  reco- 
vered. The  artisans,  merchants,  manufacturers,  and 
their  capital  were  dispersed ;  England  became  the 
asylum,  and  reaped  in  return  the  wealth  that  war 
forbade  to  dwell  elsewhere. 

As  to  the  pi'oduction  of  silk  in  the  Netherlands,  it 
remains  only  to  quote  M.  d'Homergue.  "  The  king 
of  tlie  Netherlands,"  to  secure  the  instruction  of  a 
competent  superintendent,  "invited  from  Spain  the 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  69 

chevalier  Barramendy,  and  assigned  to  him  the  castle 
of  Manege,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town  of  Ath,  ten 
leagnes  from  Brussels,  with  a  number  of  acres  of 
ground  belonging  to  it ;  which  he  has  planted  with 
the  white  mulberry.  The  king  supplied  him  with 
considerable  sums  of  money.  The  silk  which  was 
made,  proved,  however,  of  a  very  inferior  quality. 
Nevertheless,  the  minister  of  the  interior,  Van  Gob- 
helschroy,  and  the  inspector  of  the  national  manufac- 
tories, M.  Nettscher,  continue  to  encourage  the  un- 
dertaking. The  prince  of  Orange  himself  went  in 
person  to  Manoge,  to  inspect  the  establishment,  and. 
gave  it  the  sanction  of  his  patronage." 

FRANCE. 

M.  Mavet,  in  his  history  of  the  silk  trade,  asserts 
that  the  first*  mulberry  tree  in  France,  was  brought 
during  the  time  of  the  crusades  by  Guipape  of  St. 
Aubon,  and  planted  three  leagues  from  Montmeliart. 
At  an  early  period  the  Greeks  supplied  France  and 
Germany  with  the  fabrics,  and  silk  came  into  use  as 
an  article  for  apparel.  "  Charlemagne  wore  above 
his  linen  doublet  and  under  garment,  a  silk  scarf  round 
his  waist.  Not  sooner  than  the  middle  ages  did  the 
sumptuous  silk  cloaks,  embroidered  with  gold  and 
silver,  worn  by  the  knights  over  their  more  martial 
equipment,  come  into  fashion.  Charles  VI.  wore 
constantly  a  black  velvet  coat  of  arms  even  in  the 
hottest  days.  And  Charles  VII.  wore  at  his  entrance 
into  Rouen,  in  1419,  a  beaver  lined  with  velvet, 
which  was  the  most  costly  and  elegant  head  orna- 
ment known  at  that  time.''t 

*  "  This  identical  tree,  it  is  said,  was  living  in  1810,  when  the 
owner  of  the  premises,  M.  de  la  Tour  des  pay  le  Chaux,  caused  this 
venerable  parent  of  French  mulberry  to  be  preserved  and  respected,  by 
having  a  wall  built  round  it,  and  forbidding  its  leaves  to  be  gathered. 
The  cuttings  and  descendants  of  this  tree  now  cover  the  soil  of  France, 
and  produced  to  the  state  in  1810,  a  revenue  of  more  than  100,000,000 
pounds  of  raw  silk,  and  more  than  400,000,000  of  francs  in  industry 
only,  an  amount  greatly  increased  since  that  time." 

■\  Count  de  Hazzi. 


70  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

The  mamifacture  of  silk  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  introduced  into  France  earlier  than  the  time  of 
Louis  XI.,  who  in  1480  established,  with  extensive 
privileges,  at  Tours,  the  artisans  he  had  obtained  from 
Genoa,  Venice,  and  Florence.  Authors  do  not  ap- 
pear to  be  perfectly"  agreed  relative  to  the  first  intro- 
duction of  the  silk  loorm  into  France.  Some  refer 
that  event  to  the  year  1494,  or  during  the  campaigns 
of  Charles  VIII.,  when,  it  is  aifirmed  that  not  only 
silk  worms,  but  also  a  further  supply  of  mulberry 
trees  were  brought  from  Italy,  which  gave  prospe- 
rity to  the  rich  countries  that  border  on  the  Rhone. 
The  progress  of  the  manufacture,  however,  appears 
to  have  been  comparatively  stationary,  until  the  reign 
of  Francis  I.  The  artisans  obtained  in  the  year  1521 
from  the  dutchy  of  Milan,  then  in  the  possession  of 
the  French,  introduced  the  manufacture  into  Lyons, 
and  were  encouraged  by  the  patronage  of  that  mo- 
narch. According  to  these  authorities,  it  was  from 
this  time  that  a  more  rapid  progress  ensued,  and  ma- 
nufactories sprung  up  not  only  in  Lyons,  but  also  in 
the  southern  provinces,  adequate  first  to  supply  do- 
mestic consumption,  and  soon  after  to  export  wrought 
silks  of  a  quality  to  sustain  competition  in  foreign 
markets,  which  to  France  ultimately  became,  even 
from  England  only,  a  source  of  abundant  wealth. 

But  according  to  Thuanus,  it  is  to  Francis  I.  that 
the  French  were  indebted  for  the  first  introduction 
of  the  silk  worms;  which  were  successfully  reared  in 
Provence,  Avignon,  and  Lyons.  Others  refer  this 
event  to  the  time  of  Henry  IV.  The  more  probable 
case  is  that  all  previous  attempts,  whether  in  the 
raising  of  silk,  or  in  the  manufacture  of  fabrics,  com- 
pared with  those  resulting  from  the  more  Uberal 
patronage  of  the  monarch  last  mentioned,  were  not 
so  extensively  successful.  Indeed  it  is  acknowledged 
that  both  mulberry  trees  and  silk  worms  were  reared 
before  in  Lyonnois,  Dauphinc,  Provence,  and  Lan- 
guedoc ;  but  by  Henry,  it  appears,  they  were  natu- 
ralized as  far  north  as  Orleans ;  who  also,  according 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  71 

to  Mezeray  planted  the  trees  at  Paris,  and  reared  the 
worms  at  the  Tiiileries.  The  Parisians  were  encou- 
raged by  letters  patent,  conferring,  on  certain  condi- 
tions, even  titles  of  nobility,  to  introduce  manufacto- 
ries into  the  metropolis.  But  later  experience  has 
shown  that  the  climate  north  of  the  Loire  is  not 
suitable  to  the  insect. 

M.  d'Homergue  informs  us  that  Henry  "  invited 
one  Michaeli  from  Italy  into  his  dominions,  and  gave 
him,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  extensive  planta- 
tion of  mulberry  trees,  and  raising  the  article  of  silk, 
the  castle  of  the  old  Marquis  de  Fournes,  situate  on 
the  river  Gardon,  in  the  vicinity  of  Nimes.  This  inge- 
nious foreigner  was  the  first  who  began  the  manufac- 
tories of  silk  stutis  that  now  enrich  that  city.  And 
tradition  informs  us  that  the  king  expended  on  those 
establishments  the  immense  sum  of  near  one  million 
and  a  half  of  livres;  an  enormous  sum  in  those  days." 

Olivier  de  Serres  was  highly  instrumental  in  urging 
the  king  in  the  furtherance  of  this  national  benefit,* 
who  is,  indeed,  called  by  the  French  to  this  day,  the 
patriarch  of  agriculture.  The  king  conscious  of  the 
merits  of  Olivier,  "  offered  him  the  highest  honours, — 
but  he  asked  for  one  favour  only,  viz.  that  all  useless 
trees  might  be  banished  from  the  royal  gardens ;  an 
example  that  was  soon  extensively  followed  through- 
out the  kingdom.  At  Olivier's  recommendation 
14,000  mulberry  trees,  and  a  large  quantity  of  seed 
of  the  same  tree  were  ordered  from  Italy,  to  supply 
the  vacancies  intentionally  made  in  the  Royal  Gar- 
dens. In  later  times  he  also  procured  silk  worms' 
eggs,  and  persons  acquainted  Avith  their  rearing. 
The  trees,  the  eggs,  and  printed  instructions,  were 
distributed  gratis  to  ag?'iculturists."i  JVell,  there- 
fore, may  Henry  and  Olivier  be  called  the  chief 
patrons  of  the  silk  culture  in  France.  Olivier  for 
this,  was  entitled  to  greater  merit,  since  he  was  op- 

*  Opposed  at  first,  through  misa])prehension,  even  by  Sully.     This 
is  curiously  stated  by  Comte  de  Hazzi,  q.  v.  p.  16,  17,  18. 
I  Comte  de  Hazzi. 


72  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

posed  (Anno  1603)  by  the  powerful  influence  of 
Sully  and  the  other  ministers  of  the  French  king.* 
"How  much  would  Sully  now,"  adds  Count  de 
Hazzi,  "  be  astonished,  could  he  behold  the  evidence 
of  his  mistake,  and  the  foresight  of  his  royal  master. 
Instead  of  continuing  to  pay  to  foreign  merchants 
four  millions  of  francs  annually,  for  silk,  the  French 
draw  many  millions  from  their  ancient  suppliers,  and 
enrich  themselves  in  proportion." 

The  prosperity  of  the  silk  culture  and  manufacture 
in  France,  resulting  from  the  favouring  auspices  of 
Henry  IV.  and  Olivier  de  Serres,  received  a  further 
impulse  from  the  fostering  care  and  patronage  of 
Louis  XIV.  and  his  minister  Colbert.  A  reward  of 
three  livres  to  the  cultivator  for  every  mulberry  tree 
that  should  be  found  in  a  thriving  condition  three 
years  after  being  planted,  had  the  desired  effect,  and 
Provence,  Languedoc,  Dauphine,  Vivarais,  Lyonnois, 
Gascony,  and  Saaitonge  were  speedily  covered  with 
trees  though  the  former  chiefly  produced  the  silk. 

Francis  I.,  in  the  year  1540,  granted  to  the  city  of 
Lyons,  which  may  be  termed  the  silk  emporium  of 
France,  the  privilege,  since  by  various  royal  ordi- 
nances continued  to  1717,  of  being  the  depot,  through 
which,  on  accoimt  of  certain  duties,  all  silks  brought 
by  sea  or  land,  had  to  pass.  On  an  average,  6000 
bales  of  silk,  from  the  Levant,  1000  from  Sicily,  1500 
from  Italy,  300  from  Spain,  and  1200  from  Langue- 
doc, Provence,  and  Dauphine  annually  passed  through 
the  city,  in  which  when  in  its  most  flourishing  state 
18,000  looms  were  in  operation.t 

*  Memoirs  de  Max.  de  Bethune,  Due  de  Sully ;  Londres,  1767,  vol. 
V,  p.  74.     And  Count  von  Hazzi,  p.  17  ct  seq. 

•j-  In  16.56,  frames  for  weaving  silk  stockings  were  obtained  from 
England  and  introduced  into  Paris.  In  1 6  years  after,  so  rapidly  had 
this  branch  of  operative  industry  extended,  that  the  silk  stocking  weavers 
were  considered  to  be  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  incorporated  by 
royal  ordinance,  and  extensive  stocking  manufactories  were  established 
in  numerous  towns.  This  department  of  manufacture  flourished  until 
restrictions  imposed  by  the  injudicious  interference  of  government  re- 
pressed its  prosperity,  and  it  is  now  chiefly  found  at  Cevennes. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  73 

Between  16SS  and  1741,  according  to  the  "Com- 
merce du  19me  Siecle,"  France  annually  exported 
to  England  wrought  silks  to  the  value  of  12,500,000 
francs.  For  the  protection  of  her  own  manufacture, 
prohibitory  laws  against  the  introduction  of  foreign 
silk  commenced  in  England  in  1765,  which  with 
various  modifications  have  been,  but  not  effectually, 
maintained  until  the  present.  The  French  export  of 
wrought  goods,  notwithstanding,  in  1784  is  quoted 
Ht  25  million  of  francs,  and  in  1789,  at  29,745,000 
francs. 

During  a  state  of  domestic  peace,  whatever  were 
the  foreign  wars,  the  manufactures  of  France  were 
in  a  prosperous  condition.  But  two  political  events, 
the  one  characterized  by  religious  intolerance  and 
massacre,  and  the  other  by  the  prevalency  of  atheism 
and  anarchy,  proved  by  their  destructive  conse- 
quences, their  origin.  The  desolating  effects  of  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  in  1685,  in  a  few 
years  reduced  the  18,000  looms  at  Lyons  to  4000; 
and  consequences  still  more  disastrous  were  exem- 
plified at  Tours ;  which  before  the  revocation  had 
800  mills  for  winding  and  preparing  silk,  8000  looms 
for  weaving,  and  40,000  persons  engaged  in  the 
manufacture,  as  well  as  3000  looms  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  ribands.  Soon  after  the  revocation,  the  mills 
were  reduced  to  70,  the  looms  to  1200,  and  the  ope- 
ratives to  4000 ;  and  the  consumption  of  silk  which 
had  amounted  to  2400  bales  decreased  to  700  ! 

The  same  features  of  family  descent  are  indelibly 
stamped  on  the  revolution.  Before  it,  in  1786,  Lyons 
had  15,000  looms  ;  in  1789  not  half  that  number,  and 
in  1800,  not  more  than  3500,  nor  more  than  5800 
artisans  employed  in  the  manufacture.  The  removal 
of  that  political  sirocco  allowed  once  more  the  iiealthy 
energies  of  man  to  circulate.  In  1824  Lyons  had 
24,000  looms  employed,  and  36,000  artisans  ;  and  in 
1825,  a  Lyons  newspaper  states  that  8526  factories 
were  in  operation.  Subsequent  fluctuations,  it  is  true, 
but  neither  material  nor  permanent,  might  be  noticed, 

7 


74  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

but  they  chiefly  arose  from  indiscreet  interference 
and  poHtical  impediment ;  from  the  artificial  and  not 
the  natural  springs  of  action. 

The  annual  consumption  of  silks  in  France  for 
1823,  was  quoted  at  1,600,000  lbs.*  The  difference 
existing,  for  nearly  30  years  past,  as  to  any  statistics 
from  customhouse  documents,  between  declared  and 
real  values  of  exports  and  imports,  precludes  the 
possibility  of  quoting  with  accuracy  from  thence  the 
quantity  of  silk  sent  to  foreign  markets.  But  from 
the  most  credible  testimonies,  we  may  state  as  an 
approximation  to  the  truth,  that  in  France,  notwith- 
standing they  raise  so  much  silk,  they  annually  import 
in  value,  on  the  average,  to  the  extent  of  30,000,000 
francs  of  raw  silk,  or  one-third  of  all  they  consume 
for  their  manufactures.t 

Value  of  exported  wrought  silk. 

Year  1801 39,314,000  francs. 

Year  1820 123,063,000  francs. 

Year  1821 Ill  ,689,000  francs. 

Year  1822 99,063,000  francs. 

Year  1835 124,850,000  francs. 

One-third  of  which  was  brought  to  the  United 
States ! ! ! 

OTHER    STATES    OF    CONTINENTAL    EUROPE. 

Switzerland  is  one  of  the  countries  benefited  by  the 
ambitious  projects  and  sanguinary  discontent  of  other 
nations.  The  very  weapon  of  Bonaparte,  uplifted 
to  destroy,  in  1810,  the  commerce  of  England,  merely 

*  "  France  produced  in  1812,  987,000  lbs.  of  raw  silk,  and  imported 
a  like  quantity." — Dr.  Lardner. 

•j-  The  statement  from  Count  de  Hazzi  is  as  follows :  "  The  annual 
profits  from  this  single  branch  of  industry  in  France,  arc  estimated  at 
40  millions  of  florins ;  of  which,  a  tenth  is  derived  from  the  production 
of  the  raw  material,  and  the  remainder  from  the  manufacture.  Ac- 
cording to  the  most  recent  statistical  data,  that  kingdom  derives  from 
the  production  of  silk  23,560,000  francs  per  annum,  and  84,000.000 
francs  from  the  fabrication  ;  and,  consequently,  the  capital  which  is 
brought  into  circulation  in  both  ways,  amounts  to  107,560,000  francs  I ! ! 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  75 

fell  to  crush  the  prosperity  of  his  own  people.  The 
manufacturers  of  cottons  and  muslins  inhabiting  the 
vicinity  of  the  lake  of  Zurich,  losing  their  usual  mar- 
ket by  Napoleon's  prohibition  to  admit,  in  order  to 
exclude  English  manufacture,  foreign  goods  into 
France,  transferred  their  labours  so  skilfully  to  silk, 
that  in  a  very  few  years,  they  became  successful 
competitors  with  the  French  in  the  German  markets. 
And  the  injury  thus  first  inflicted  by  war  on  the  in- 
ternal resources  of  France,  was  redoubled  by  religious 
persecutions.  On  this  account  in  1815,  IS  16,  and 
1817,  numerous  artisans  and  manufacturers  emigrated 
from  Lyons,  and  transported  their  industry  and  capital 
to  Zurich.  Thus  strangers  and  aliens  profit  by  the 
domestic  quarrels  of  others :  but  governments  when 
they  become  Ahithophels  learn  not  by  such  lessons. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Zurich,  in  1814,  contained 
not  more  than  2000  looms;  in  1828  the  looms  had 
increased  there  to  10,000:  and  three  of  the  factories 
employed  2600  and  one  1204  artisans.  In  the  year 
1820,  Germany  entirely  depended  on  France  for  a 
supply  of  wrought  silks ;  since  then  silks  of  Swiss 
manufacture  are  so  abundant  in  the  markets  of 
Frankfort  and  Leipzig,  as  to  interfere  materially  with 
the  French  merchant.  At  Zurich  and  Basle  silk 
fabrics  of  all  kinds,  crape  and  satin  excepted,  are  now 
manufactured.  The  silk  for  umbrellas  is  also  now 
made  so  extensively  at  Berne,  as  to  supply  the  north 
of  continental  Europe.  The  encouragement  given 
to  Switzerland  is  such  that  other  cantons  are  now 
enlisting  in  the  enterprise  :  in  short,  what  the  litigious 
French  have  lost,  the  peaceful  Swiss  have  gained. 

Count  de  Hazzi  says,  "  The  history  of  the  cultivation 
of  silk  in  Gekmany  divide  sitself  into  three  epochs ; 
of  which  the  two  former  may  be  called  the  unlucky  ! 
According  to  written  documents,  the  first  experiment 
on  rearing  the  silk  worm  was  made  in  1598,  at  Roth- 
enburg ;  and  repeated  at  Wurtzburg,  Hochheim, 
Dresden,  and  Stutgard."  In  1669,  further  eflorts 
were  renewed,  and  a  numerous  company,  consisting 


76  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  families  in  Munich, 
was  organized.  But  the  misunderstanding*  with  their 
Itahan  superintendant,  Lucas  Uffele,  involved  the 
company  in  law  suits  with  him  and  the  Italian  mer- 
chants. The  company  sustained  the  loss  of  many 
thousand  florins,  and  Lucas  imprisonment,  from 
which  he  did  not  escape  till  after  a  confinement  of 
six  years  and  a  half. 

The  next  impulse  given  to  Germany,  originated 
from  the  example  of  Prussia ;  to  the  history  of  which 
we  refer  under  a  distinct  section.  Hence,  "from 
1744  to  1755,  35,678  mulberry  trees  were  planted  in 
Saxony,  which  in  1753,  produced  150  lbs.  of  silk. 
Similar  success  attended  the  endeavours  which  were 
made  in  Wurtembcrg,  Anspach,  and  Baireuth.  But 
the  most  active  promoter  was  the  Elector  Charles 
Theodore  in  the  Palatinate,  where,  under  his  auspices, 
80,000  mulberry  trees  were  planted,  and  his  example 
was  soon  followed  in  the  dutchy  of  Deux-Ponts."  A 
company  was  afterwards  formed,  by  which  extensive 
plantations  of  mulberry  trees  were  made  at  Munich, 
Landshut,  Engelkofen,  Arnsdorf,  Straubing,  and 
Burkhausen ;  and  the  promenades,  ramparts,  and 
streets  of  many  cities  were  ornamented  with  these 
trees;  and  the  whole  was  in  a  promising  state,  until 
1787.  The  cause  of  the  temporary  failure  is  a  sub- 
ject of  distinct  and  subsequent  consideration. 

It  is  more  remarkable  than  extraordinary  that  the 
third  epoch  of  the  silk  culture  in  Germany,  which  is 
to  be  dated  from  1821,  was  brought  about  by  a  lady. 
"During  the  distribution  of  premiums,"  says  Comte  de 
Hazzi,  "  at  the  agricultural  solemnities  of  that  year, 
in  the  circle  of  the  Lower  Danube,  high  praise  was 
given  to  the  exertions  which  had  been  made  for 
the  revival  of  the  silk  culture,  by  a  noble  lady,  by 
name  of  Leeb  Straubing.  My  own  attention  was 
thereby  strangely  kindled,  and  I  remember  that  on 
my  entrance  into  public  life,  as  aulic  counsellor,  I 

•  Comte  de  Hazzi,  p.  19,  et  seq. 


HisTonr  OF  SILK.  77 

heard  much  in  the  council  of  silk  culture.  I  requested 
M.  de  Nagel*  to  draw  up  a  memorandum  respecting 
the  mulberry  tree — to  enter  into  correspondence  with 
the  above  mentioned  lady,  and  to  converse  on  the 
subject  with  the  officers  of  the  late  superintendency. 
IVIuch  information  was  thereby  obtained.  With  50 
silk  worm  eggs  furnished  by  lady  Leeb,  the  first  ex- 
periment was  made  in  the  spring  of  182 2.  Fortu- 
nately 3  mulberry  trees  were  discovered  not  far  from 
the  capital.  Within  44  days  we  were  in  possession 
of  50  beautiful  cocoons,  and  the  butterflies  produced 
2500  eggs.  These  were  hatched  in  the  spring  of 
1823,  at  which  period  more  mulberry  trees  had  been 
discovered.  In  1823,  the  number  of  eggs  of  which 
we  could  dispose  amounted  to  600,000.  Demands 
for  eggs  and  directions  for  their  use  reached  us  from 
several  parts  of  the  kingdom.  We  were  informed  at 
the  same  time,  how  madly  whole  alleys  of  the  pre- 
cious trees  had  been  cut  down,  even  very  recently, 
to  serve  for  fuel  like  the  commonest  wood." 

In  the  report,  before  the  board  for  the  extension 
of  silk  culture  in  Bavaria,  we  find  that  "  mulberry 
trees  had  multiplied  in  all  directions ;  that  a  great 
number  had  been  found  and  fortunately  saved  from 
the  axe,  after  thousands  of  them  had  been  felled 
through  SHEER  IGXORANCE  !  upwavds  of  100,000 
had  been  cut  down  i?i  one  single  district,  called  the 
Regens  Kreis  ;  that  the  silk  worms  had  witlistood  all 
the  changes  of  climate,  even  when  not  tended  at  all ; 
and  that  neither  mortality  nor  diseases  had  occurred; 
that  the  silk  produced  was  not  inferior  in  quality  to 
that  of  Italy."  In  1825,  the  progress  which  the  cul- 
tivation of  silk  was  making  in  Bavaria,  attracted  the 
attention  of  several  German  states,  viz.  the  kingdom 
of  Wurtembera',  the  Grand  Dutchy  of  Baden,  the 
Electorate  of  Hessen,  Nassau,  and  jNIeinungen. 

According  to  the  report  of  Count  Reigersberg,  the 

•  Secrelan^  of  the  committee  of  the  Agricultural  Society,  and  who 
had  became  acquainted  with  the  culture  of  silk  in  Hungary. 

7- 


78  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

quantity  of  silk  produced  in  the  Palatinate  during  the 
years  specified  below,  may  be  stated  as  follows 

In  the  year  1777 15,024  lbs. 

1784 45,728  lbs. 

1785 29,249  lbs. 

1787 17,047  lbs. 

1789 37,137  lbs. 

In  the  same  report  we  read,  "According  to  long 
experience,  the  mulberry  tree  thrives  among  us  as 
well  as  the  common  fruit  trees.  The  experience  of 
many  years,  proves  sufficiently  that  the  culture  agrees 
at  least  as  well  with  our  climate,  as  with  those  of  the 
provinces  of  France  and  Italy,  which  for  several  cen- 
turies have  been  considered  as  the  principal  seats  of 
the  silk  culture  in  Europe.  Whilst  it  failed  so  com- 
pletely in  those  countries  in  1S16  and  1817,  that  the 
price  of  silk  was  more  than  double,  the  pound  selling 
at  28  florins;  we  nevertheless  obtained  good  crops. 
There  remains  not  the  least  doubt  that  Ave  can  pro- 
duce silk  as  cheap  as  in  France.  In  the  Cevennes, 
female  spinners  receive  42  kr.  a  day,  and  twiners 
21  kr. ;  whilst,  among  us,  women  well  acquainted 
with  that  kind  of  labour,  will  work  for  a  third  of  the 
money.  The  silk  produced  in  Germany  is  at  least 
equal  to  that  of  Turin.  Not  long  ago,  in  weaving 
silk  imported  from  Italy  and  from  Manheim,  we 
found  that  the  weaver,  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
Italian  and  French  silk,  preferred  by  far  the  organzine 
of  Manheim  for  its  greater  strength  and  equality." 

It  appears  from  the  whole  of  the  evidence  before 
us,  that  there  have  been  three  distinct  periods  in  the 
history  of  silk  in  Germany,  commencing  respectively 
in  1598,  1744,  and  1821  ;  that  the  two  former  were, 
as  termed  by  Comte  de  Hazzi,  unlucky,  a  conse- 
quence resulting  from  misunderstanding  and  misman- 
agement; the  whole  of  which  does  not  even  yet 
appear  to  be  removed ;  and  therefore  the  enterprise 
commencing  with  1821,  compared  with  what  it  would 
be,  were  it  free  from  impediments  with  which  it  has 
no  physical  or  necessary  connexion,  is  yet  in  its  in- 
fancy. 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  79 

On  reading  this  singular  statement  given  by  Count 
de  Hazzi,  we  were  naturally  led  to  inquire,  what 
was  the  cause  of  the  two  former  periods  being  "  un- 
lucky ?'*  Was  it  the  high  latitude  ?  Not  so  5  since 
silk  is  produced  not  unsuccessfully,  as  far  to  the  north 
as  Sweden.  "Was  it  any  peculiarity  whatever  of 
climate  ?  We  are  informed  not.  It  is  by  all  parties 
confessed  not  only  that  mulberry  trees  and  silk  worms 
were  raised  there,  but  also  that  the  German  climate 
proved  congenial  to  both.  Was  it  because  the  pro- 
duction of  domestic  silk  was  unimportant  in  a  national 
or  financial  point  of  view  ?  Quite  the  contrary,  since 
Bavaria  alone,  recently  imported  silks  at  the  rate  of 
10  millions  of  florins  per  annum.  Are  we  then  to 
look,  somewhat  philosophically,  into  national  cha- 
racter :  the  French,  the  Italians,  nay  even  the  Rus- 
sians and  the  Swedes  succeed,  why  not  the  Germans  ? 
We  are  met  again  by  a  negative,  since  the  Germans, 
even  the  uneducated,  are  remarkable  for  their  steady 
and  industrious  habits.  Neither  were  the  failures 
attributable  to  the  want  of  the  most  encouraging  ex- 
amples from  the  neighbouring  silk  districts  of  France 
and  Italy ;  in  each,  a  source  of  abundant  wealth  to 
the  nation,  and  giving  employment  to  myriads  of 
men,  women,  and  children,  otherwise,  perhaps,  des- 
titute. 

No  such  cause  or  causes  can  be  assigned.  Here 
then,  in  the  history  of  men,  either  as  individuals  or 
formed  into  communities  have  we  an  anomaly  !  No 
impediment  from  any  physical,  natural  cause  what- 
ever ;  not  from  the  soil,  situation  nor  climate ;  but 
from,  if  we  are  allowed  the  expression,  a  political 
climate.  A  moral  phenomenon  !  Men  destroy  what 
Providence  bestows  !  There  are  some  cases,  in  which 
interference  on  the  part  of  government  with  the  in- 
dustry and  secular  prosperity  of  its  people,  has  been 
salutary,  but  many  in  which  it  has  been  a  withering 
political  atmosphere,  something  like  a  posthumous 
edition  of  Justinian's  overreaching  rapacity,  that,  by 


80  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

grasping  at  too  much,  loses  all*  Charity,  however, 
intimates,  that  on  the  part  of  the  German  govern- 
ments, it  was  philanthropy  aiming  at  the  people's 
weal.t  Be  it  so ; — yet  the  indiscretion  that  misdi- 
rected it,  rendered  the  whole  abortive. 

But  what  a  picture  of  artificial  clogs  and  shackles 
have  we  on  reading  the  long  list  of  governmental 
restrictions,  mulcts,  charges,  and  compulsive  mea- 
sures. Surely  the  whole  apparatus  of  screws,  fetters, 
pincers,  hammer,  nail,  and  tongs,  brought  by  the 
Spanish  Armada,  to  show  how  the  friends  of  the 
holy  inquisition  intended  to  hlcss  the  English  with  a 
happy  purgatory  in  their  own  country,  could  not 
well  equal  such  a  thumb-screw  system;  such  artificial 
manacles  to  clog  the  free  blessings  of  the  skies. 

By  some  legislative  fiat,  monopolies  rise,  having 
officers,  inspectors,  and  creatures  enjoying  uncondi- 
tional salaries,  and  privileges  that  another,  by  the 
most  untiring  industry,  loyalty,  and  merit,  could  never 
touch,  though  induced  to  engage,  not  by  the  reward 
that  sweetens  toil,  but  by  coercive  means.  Two 
castes  among  the  children  of  the  same  father  !  One 
has  encouragement,  the  other  compulsion,  though  the 
merit  is  equal!  Here  not  only  a  full  price,  but  even 
a  bounty  is  given  for  the  produce;  there  a  law  forcing 
to  undersell  at  the  risk  of  fine,  bodily  punishment, 
or  imprisonment,  for  either  not  producing  or  with- 
holding. The  smiles  of  government  beam  with  pe- 
culiar grace  on  the  minions  of  the  monopoly,  but  the 
back  of  the  hand  or  the  spurn  of  the  heel  is  shown  to 
its  slaves.     The  former  enjoy  the  gracious  touch  of 


•  "ApacTo  /cf/o^,"  said  the  Grecian  fabulist,  "ugfxwt  to  umm  xaCav, 
an-aiKitxi  St  a^<|)0Tt?5t ;"  dropping  his  own,  he  rushed  to  catch  another's, 
and  thus  lost  both. 

I  Were  this  the  case,  why  do  favouritism  and  partiahty  appear  in  the 
development  of  facts,  and  two  prices  for  a  pound  of  cocoons.  The  one 
affording  ample  profit  to  the  parasite ;  the  other  positive  discourage- 
ment and  despair  to  another,  who  was  forced  to  sell  by  law  and  penal- 
tics  at  a  dillerent  rate. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  81 

the  sceptre,  the  latter  have  to  kiss  the  dust  at  their 
master's  feet.* 

Men  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Eutopian  walls  felt 
this.  They  saw  no  prospect  of  adequate  remunera- 
tion ;  aversion  was  the  consequence,  and  the  remedy 
they  sought,  was  simply  to  let  the  worms  die  ; — of  the 
jaundice  they  said,  but  the  true  cause  was,  they  gave 
tiiem  nothing  to  eat.t  And  thus  having  got  rid  of 
all  the  little  soldiers  quartered  in  their  barracks,  at- 
tention was  next  turned  to  the  mulberry  trees.  To 
them  they  were  not  the  monuments  of  interest,  but 
the  pyramids  of  oppression.  In  the  fields  they  could 
not  cheer  them,  but  in  the  fire  they  could,  and  the 
choice  was  not  difficult.  At  first,  the  trees  seemed 
to  walk  away  by  night ;  soon  whole  lanes  or  alleys 
appeared  through  plantations ;  and  finally  entire 
forests  were  destroyed.  Thus  the  district  in  Ger- 
many that  could  boast  of  its  million  mulberries,  in  a 
few  years  could  scarcely  furnish  a  score;  and  Ger- 
many by  the  mistaken  policy  of  its  rulers,  became 
tributary  again  to  foreign  nations  for  silk.  This  ex- 
tinction amounted  to  an  almost  national  oblivion  of 
the  very  existence  of  the  thing  by  the  wars  of  the 
French  Revolution  that  soon  after  overran  the  states 
of  Germany. 

With  the  causes  already  assigned  as  productive  of 
these  disastrous  consequences,  there  were  others  at 
different  times  combined,  and  some  so  singular  or 
important  in  their  character,  as  to  demand  a  record 
on  the  page  of  history.  At  an  early  period,  the  peo- 
ple seem  to  have  been  set  to  work  without  competent 
instruction.  Trees  were  planted  in  marshy,  wet 
grounds,  or  in  the  streets,  or  along  the  road  sides. 

*  See  Treatise  by  Count  de  Hazzi,  p.  42  and  43.  It  is  said  that 
"  The  Elector,  Maximilian  Joseph,  who  succeeded  Charles  Theodore, 
abrogated  the  compulsory  system  ;  and  with  it  disappeared  all  the  offences, 
complaints,  and  litigations,  which  it  had  occasioned." 

f  Xx'^Kutrrinr.;  sAe>5,  jutyt  i^>,/MaA»v,  x..  r.  ?..  q.  v.  Hieroc.  facet  "I 
have  suffered  a  great  loss,"  said  he,  "  for  when,  through  economy,  I  had 
taught  my  horse  not  to  eat,  just  then  he  died !" 


82  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

Hence  the  leaves  became  too  much  satm-ated  with 
moisture,  or  too  much  loaded  with  dust  to  suit  the 
purpose  intended.  Ignorance,  in  certain  cases,  was 
so  complete,  as  to  allow  the  hatching  before  the  leaves 
were  on  the  trees.  Some,  not  aware  of  the  large 
quantity  required  during  the  third  and  subsequent 
ages  of  the  insect,  had  allowed  the  hatch  without 
being  sure  of  a  quantity  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
creature  at  those  periods.  Often  the  worms  were  not 
fed  at  the  right  time,  and  prodigious  quantities  were 
put  together  in  close  rooms,  hence,  as  in  crowded 
hospitals,  unwholesome  evaporation  and  diseases 
were  the  consequence.  In  numerous  cases,  govern- 
ment distributed  portions  of  eggs  to  difierent  regi- 
ments ;  but  the  soldiers  cantooned  the  little  animals 
on  trees  in  the  open  air,  till  the  first  shower  of  artil- 
lery, rain,  or  hail,  brought  the  young  recruits  to  the 
ground,  where  they  bivouacked,  until  such  Goths,  as 
ants,  spiders,  and  sparrows  destroyed  them.  Another 
adverse  circumstance,  but  of  a  very  different  cha- 
racter, was,  that  at  the  prospect  of  the  progress  of 
silk  culture  in  Germany  the  merchants  and  dealers  in 
foreign  silks  took  the  alarm.  They  "  persuaded  the 
government  that  they  would  be  ruined  should  it 
longer  continue  in  existence ;  and  that  the  state  too, 
would  soon  discover  and  feel  the  disadvantages  which 
it  produces.  They  had  calculated  with  a  true  mer- 
cantile spirit  that  where  silk  is  produced,  manufac- 
turers would  soon  abound,  whereby  the  price  of  the 
foreign  commodity  must  fall,  and  could  not  be  forced 
on  the  purchaser  with  large  profits.  They  were 
Hstened  to,  and  the  institution  was  suddenly  discon- 
tinued, under  the  pretence  that  the  culture  of  silk 
could  not  be  longer  continued  in  Bavaria  because  it 
was  injurious  rather  than  profitable  to  the  state." 

It  is  not  easy  to  consider  silk  as  any  thing  less  than 
one  of  the  bounties  of  Providence  to  man  ;  and  con- 
sidered in  this  light,  it  is  the  more  remarkable,  that 
the  knowledge  of  no  other  art,  or  possession  of  any 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  83 

Other  secular  gift,  is  apparently  more  indebted  to  re- 
ligious persecution  for  its  diffusion,  than  is  that  of 
the  culture  of  silk.  By  persecution,  the  Nestorians 
were  exiled  to  the  east,  and  it  was  the  Nestorian 
monks  that  first  brought  the  silk  worms  to  Europe. 
It  was  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  or  perse- 
cution, that  supplied  Spitalfields  and  other  parts  of 
England  and  Europe  with  silk  weavers ;  the  perse- 
cutions of  1815,  1816,  and  1817  sent  them  to  Zurich; 
and  now  we  find  that  to  the  same  cause  Prussia  is 
indebted  for  her  knowledge  of  the  same  art. 

"  Frederick  the  Great,"  according  to  Count  de 
Hazzi,  "  having  chanced  to  see  a  silk  manufactory 
at  Torgau,  during  his  military  operations  in  Saxony, 
and  having  had  his  attention  called  to  the  descendants 
of  some  French  manufacturers,  who  had  emigrated 
from  their  country,  in  consequence  of  the  revocation 
of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  and  had  established  themselves 
at  Berlin,  gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  regeneration 
of  the  silk  culture  in  Germany.  He  ordered  planta- 
tions of  mulberry  trees  to  be  multiplied,  extensive 
buildings  to  be  erected,  printed  instructions  on  the 
rearing  of  the  silk  worm  to  be  distributed ;  and  he 
promised  considerable  bounties  to  those  who  would 
devote  themselves  to  that  industry.  According  to  a 
detailed  account,  the  quantity  of  silk  collected  in  the 
provinces  of  Magdeburg,  Halberstadt,  Brandenburgh, 
and  Pomerania,  amounted  to  684 9  pounds." 

Mayet  relates,  that  "In  the  year  1790,  the  Baron 
de  Heintz,  the  Prussian  minister,  cultivated  the  mul- 
berry and  produced  silk  on  his  estate  equal  to  the 
finest  product  of  the  Milanese."  Difficulties,  how- 
ever, arising  from  similar  mistakes,  attended  the 
early  culture  of  silk  in  Prussia,  as  well  as  in  the  rest 
of  Germany.  "  The  ill  success  was  in  no  way  as- 
cribed to  the  climate,  but  solely  to  the  various  blun- 
ders that  were  committed  on  its  introduction ;  among 
which,  we  will  only  mention  tlie  compulsory  measures 
which  were  employed,  the  little  care  with  which  the 


84  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

trees  were  planted,  and  the  eggs  and  worms  them- 
selves were  treated."* 

In  1825,  however,  successful  exertions  were  re- 
newed by  M.  Bolzani.  He  produced  upwards  of 
1000  pounds  of  cocoons,  or  100  pounds  of  silk,  not  in- 
ferior to  the  finest  of  upper  Italy.  From  half  an  ounce 
of  eggs,  he  obtains  41|  pounds  of  cocoons,  and  his 
silk  in  Prussia  was  worth  eight  dollars  a  pound.  He 
afterwards  obtained  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Lake 
Como,  persons  well  acquainted  with  the  reeling ;  and 
his  silk  was  converted  into  organzine  equal  to  the 
best  of  Italy.  The  fact,  that  600,000  pounds  of  raw 
silk  being  yearly  imported  into  Prussia,  requiring  the 
export  of  three  millions  of  dollars,  is  sufficient  to  call 
the  attention  of  that  country  to  M.  Bolzani's  laudable 
undertaking. 

In  the  year  1782,  a  fund  was  appropriated,  in 
Austria,  to  encourage  the  introduction  of  the  silk 
culture  into  Bohemia.  The  edicts  of  1795  and  1804 
declare,  that  "  Since  it  is  ascertained  that  the  Italian 
silk  is  inferior  to  the  Bohemian,  and  that  the  inexpe- 
rience of  cultivators,  not  the  climate,  had  been  the 
true  cause  of  the  small  progress  which  the  culture 
had  as  yet  made,  the  agricultural  corporations  shall 
hereafter  provide  lands  and  buildings,  and  engage 
the  inhabitants,  by  all  the  means  in  their  power,  in 
the  pursuit  of  it."  According  to  the  Vienna  Court 
Gazette  of  the  7th  of  September,  1825,  it  appears, 
that  the  cultivation  of  silk  has  since  grown  into 
favour ;  mistakes  in  the  practice  began  to  be  ex- 
ploded, compulsory  measures  to  be  abandoned,  and 
rewards  to  successful  cultivators,  awarded.  These 
attempts  to  promote  the  silk  culture  in  the  Austrian 
dominions  are  chiefly  made  in  Tyrol,  Lombardy,  II- 
lyria,  Dalmatia,  and  a  part  of  Hungary  ;  and  "  That 
government  strives  to  introduce  it  also  in  other 
provinces,  with  a  view  of  saving  the  many  millions 

*  Count  dc  Ilazzi,  p.  40. 


niSTORT    OF    SILK.  85 

of  florins  which  go  abroad  for  stiifl's  of  that  mate- 
rial."* 

As  the  subject  refers  to  Sweden,  it  is  sufiicient  to 
observe  that  Dr.  Lardner  quotes  the  Stockholm 
Journal  for  March,  1S24,  and  Count  de  Hazzi  the 
Stockholm  Gazette  for  1S25.  From  the  former  we 
learn,  that  "  The  culture  of  the  mulberry  tree  is  ex- 
tending itself  in  the  provinces  ;  and  silk  produced  in 
Sweden  has  confirmed  the  remark  formerly  made  on 
ihe  superior  fineness  and  solidity  of  silk  grown  in  the 
north,  compared  with  that  from  more  temperate 
climes.  It  supports  the  ordinary  preparation  and 
dye  equally  with  the  best  Italian,  possesses  the  same 
brilliancy  and  the  same  softness :"  from  the  latter, 
that  "  The  business  had  again  been  taken  up  very 
earnestly,  and  that  a  great  deal  of  excellent  silk  had 
been  produced.  The  Swedish  silk  has  sustained  un- 
injured, the  ordinary  manufacture  and  dyeing,  and 
obtained  the  brilliancy  and  softness  of  the  East  India 
product." 

So  indefatigable  was  the  assiduity  of  Peter,  justly 
called  the  Great.\  in  his  endeavours  to  benefit  his 
country,  whose  interest  he  viewed  with  parental  care, 
that  he  forgot  not  the  providential  intention  of  the 
mulberry  tree.  To  him,  for  the  introduction  of  mul- 
berry plantations,  and  to  the  Empress  Catharine,  for 
that  of  silk  worms,  Russia  is  indebted  ;  which  have 
since  been  successfully  cultivated  and  reared  as  high 
as  the  54th  degree  of  northern  latitude. 

*  Count  de  Hozzi. 

■j-  Whilst  on  the  pages  of  history  we  contemplate  the  character  of  a 
sovereign  eminent  for  urging  on  his  ambitious  career,  for  fanning  the 
flames  of  war,  or,  regardless  of  consequences,  aiming  at  what  he  and  his 
sycophants,  by  one  of  the  most  egregious  perversions  of  language,  call 
glory  !  we  here  and  there  select  another  eminent  in  being  intent  on  the 
promotion,  not  more  of  his  own,  than  of  his  people's  interest  and  pros- 
perity :  a  course  infinitely  more  beneficent  and  amiable.  Yet  in  in- 
discriminate language  both  are  called  great ! !  Alexander,  was  called 
great  in  the  former  sense,  Peter  of  Russia  in  the  latter.  But  which  of 
the  two  deserved  the  epithet,  it  is  not  difficult  to  determine.  There  we 
see  the  human  butcher  of  the  niilUon .  here  a  source  diliusing  benefi- 
cence to  his  own  and  future  generations. 

8 


86  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

A  plantation  of  mulberry  trees  existed  on  Ach- 
touba,  an  island  formed  by  the  division*  of  the  Volga 
into  two  branches  near  the  Caspian  Sea.  Here  the 
empress  placed  a  colony  of  400  men,  besides  women, 
to  whom  she  granted  exemption  from  imposts  for  ten 
years;  and  received  afterwards  their  capitation  tax 
in  silk  at  ten  roubles  per  pound.  Silk  worms  were 
reared  successfully  at  Bauenhotf  in  Livonia,  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  last  century.  Manufacturing  esta- 
blishments are  now  regularly  formed ;  fabrics  and 
patterns  of  every  kind  easily  imitated,  and  the  Rus- 
sians anticipate,  if  they  have  not  already  realized,  the 
time  when  they  shall  become  independent  of  Persia 
for  the  supply  of  silk. 

Russia,  though  generally  viewed  as  a  northern 
country,  includes  climes,  in  Georgia,  as  low  as  the 
parallel  of  forty  degrees,  bordering  on  the  ancient 
Armenia.  But  how  Sweden  that  owns  no  territory 
south  of  fifty-five  degrees,  and  that  can  scarcely  grow 
bread  stuffs  sufficient  for  her  own  consumption,  suc- 
ceeds in  rearing  silk  worms,  whilst  England,  that 
extends  to  the  parallel  of  fifty  degrees,  has  abandoned 
the  production  of  the  raw  material  to  more  southern 
regions,  is  an  inquiry  that  demands  a  more  satisfac- 
tory solution  than  any  yet  attempted. 

The  introduction  of  silk  fabrics  into  England  has 
been  traced  back  to  a  very  early  period.  In  the  year 
llSO,duringthe  reignof  Henry  II., the  eleganceof  silks 
began  to  be  an  object  of  admiration.  The  time  when 
silk  was  somewhat  extensively  used  in  that  country, 
was,  at  least,  as  early  as  1251.  At  the  celebration 
of  the  marriage  between  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Henry  III.  and  Alexander  III.  of  Scotland,  magnifi- 
cence was  displayed  such,  that  1000  English  knights 
appeared  richly  arrayed  in  cointises  of  silk.t     But 

•  From  the  town  Tzaritzin,  lat.  48°  35',  to  Krasnoijar,  lat  46°  38', 
or  sixteen  miles  north  of  Astrarhan. 

-j-  We  are  informed  that  the  sail  of  the  vessel  that  conveyed  Henry  V. 
(1415)  on  his  invasion  of  France,  which  led  to  the  victory  of  Agin- 
court,  was  of  purple  silk  embroidered  with  the  arms  of  England  and 
France. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  87 

the  earliest  record  of  silk  being  'manufactured  in 
England,  is  the  act  of  parliament  passed  in  the  year 
1363.*  Since  this  act  is  the  first  example,  of  which 
we  find  any  mention,  of  the  English  restrictive  policy, 
or  protective  system  of  its  own  artisans,  at  least  re- 
lative to  silks,  and  is  so  much  opposed  to  the  subse- 
quent principles  of  Great  Britain  on  the  same  point, 
we  shall  quote  this  and  others  more  at  large  than  we 
otherwise  should,  since  they  constitute  an  important 
subject  for  the  consideration  of  nations.  We  find  the 
whole,  in  reference  to  this  point,  more  succinctly 
summed  up  in  the  Silk  Culturist,  than  elsewhere. 

"Whatever  may  be  the  true  policy  of  the  United 
States,  with  regard  to  freedom  of  trade.  Great  Britain 
has  ever  considered  it,  both  her  duty  and  interest,  to 
protect  her  manufactures ;  and  to  this  policy,  and  to 
the  parliamentary  encouragement  it  has  received,  the 
silk  manufacture  of  England  is  indebted  for  its  pre- 
sent extent  and  perfection. 

•'  It  would  be  tedious  to  give  an  analysis  of  all  the 
acts  of  the  British  parliament  which  have  been  made 
to  protect  the  silk  manufacture  of  England,  against 
continental  competition,  but  an  examination  of  a  few 
will  show  the  policy  of  the  government.  The  first 
act  for  the  encouragement  and  protection  of  silk  ma- 
nufacture is  37  Edw.  III.,  c.  5  and  6.  This  statute 
was  passed  in  1363,  and  restricted  manufacturers, 
merchants,  &c.  to  the  making  and  dealing  in  one  par- 
ticular kind  of  goods  at  their  own  election.  An 
exception,  however,  was  made  in  favour  of  females 
employed  in  the  manufacture  of  silk.  In  1454,  the 
statute  33  Henry  VI.,  c.  5,  was  passed,  prohibiting, 
for  five  years,  the  importation  of  twined  ribands, 
chains,  or  girdles,"  being  the  only  articles  then  ma- 
nufactured by  the  silk  women  of  London.  In  1463, 
the  statute  3  Edward  IV,,  c.  4,  was  passed,  which 
extended  the  prohibition,  during  the  king's  pleasure, 
to  several  other  articles,  among  which  were  laces, 

•  37  Edw.  III.  c.  5  and  6. 


88  HISTORr    OP    SILK. 

ribands,  and  fringes  of  silk,  silk  twined,  silk  embroi- 
dered, tires  of  silk,  purses  and  girdles.  In  1482,  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  provisions  of  this  act  was 
withdrawn  by  its  repeal.  The  consequence  was,  the 
silk  manufacturers  were  thrown  out  of  employment, 
and  reduced  to  extreme  poverty  and  distress.  They 
were,  however,  soon  relieved  by  its  being  extended 
for  the  term  of  four  years. 

"Next  followed  the  statute  19  Hen.  VII.,  c.  21, 
which  was  passed  in  1508,  and  prohibited  the  im- 
portation of  any  manner  of  silk  wrought,  either  by 
itself,  or  with  any  other  stuff,  in  ribands,  laces,  gir- 
dles, corses,  and  corses  of  tissues  or  points,  upon  pain 
of  forfeiture.  These  being  the  only  articles  of  silk 
then  manufactured  in  England,  it  was  by  the  same 
statute  made  lawful  for  all  persons  to  import  silk 
either  raw  or  wrought  into  articles  other  than  those 
enumerated.  Towards  the  close  of  the  reign  of 
James  I.,  a  merchant  of  London  (Mr.  Burlamach) 
introduced  a  number  of  silk  throwsters,  dyers,  and 
broad  weavers  from  the  Continent,  and  the  fabrication 
of  broad  goods  was  commenced.  In  1629  manufac- 
turers of  this  description  had  increased  to  such  a 
number  as  to  entitle  themselves  to  an  act  of  incorpo- 
ration, under  the  name  of  '  the  master,  wardens,  as- 
sistants, and  commonalty  of  silk  throwsters.'  From 
that  period  down  to  the  present  time,  the  silk  manu- 
facture of  England  has  been  under  the  constant 
watchfulness  of  parliament.  Statutes  have  been 
made,  repealed,  and  modified,  as  its  interest  or  exi- 
gencies required,  and  the  result  has  been  that  it  has 
been  carried  to  an  extent  and  degree  of  perfection 
which  astonishes  the  world."  We  here  merely  state 
these  facts  which  are  of  a  similar  character,  and  refer 
to  national  policy ;  and  we,  at  present,  reserve  our 
remarks  to  a  future  part  of  this  subject. 

So  scarce  an  article  do  silk  stockings  seem  to  have 
been  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  that  it  has  been 
deemed  worthy  of  record  as  an  historic  fact,  that  that 
monarch  was  compelled,  for  the  occasion  of  gala  days, 


HISTOnV    OF    SILK.  89 

to  obtain  them  from  Spain ;  and  that  it  was  to  Sir 
Thomas  Gresham  that  his  son,  Edward  VI.,  was  in- 
debted for  a  pair.  Yet  the  tyrannical  iSIary,  daughter 
of  Henry  VIII.,  seems  to  have  dreaded  that  the  time 
was  coming,  when  blood,  more  common  than  aristo- 
cratical,  would  be  covered  with  silk.  Hence  her 
sumptuary  law  of  1554  declares,  that  "Whoever,  ex- 
cept magistrates  and  persons  of  higher  condition, 
should  wear  silk  in  or  upon  his  or  her  hat,  bonnet  or 
girdle,  scabbard,  hose,  shoes,  or  spur  leather,  shall  be 
imprisoned  three  months  and  forfeit  ten  pounds." 
This  absurd  statute  was  repealed  in  the  first  year  of 
James  I.  Mrs.  Montague,  however,  the  queen's  silk 
woman,  in  the  year  1560,  appears  to  have  tested  the 
affinity  between  royal  legs  and  silk  stockings,  by  a 
present  of  the  latter,  not  the  former,  to  Elizabeth, 
who  was,  on  this  occasion,  so  gratified,  that  she  could 
Txever  after  condescend  to  wear  the  plebeian  fabric 
of  cloth  hose. 

Eight  years  after,  the  silk  manufacture  was  so 
much  improved  as  to  be  considered,  by  a  series  of 
legislative  enactments  continued  to  the  present,  an 
object  of  national  importance.  But  notwithstanding 
all  protective  measures,  a  predilection  for  foreign 
fabrics  prevailed  to  an  extent  such,  that  it  was  said, 
that  every  maid-servant  became  a  standing  revenue 
to  the  French  king  of  one-half  of  her  wages. 

What  the  physical  consequence  of  the  experiment 
of  silk  stockings  on  queen's  legs  was  on  the  inventive 
faculty  in  men's  heads,  we  presume  not  to  divine ; 
yet  no  less  strange  than  true  was  it,  that  it  was  pre- 
cisely at  this  period,  that  there  was,  for  the  first  time, 
introduced  an  "  engine  for  knitting  or  weaving  silk 
stockings,"  invented  by  the  Rev.  William  Lea  of  St. 
John's  College,  Cambridge.  Hence,  soon  arose  the 
export  of  quantities  of  silk  hose  to  Italy.  And  we 
also  learn  that  the  quality  was  such  as  to  maintain 
its  superiority  abroad  so  long  after,  that  in  1730, 
Keysler,  who  travelled  in  Italy,  remarks,  that  it  was 
common  to  hear  the  Neapolitan  tradesman  recom- 

8* 


90  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

mending  his  hose,  by  saying,  that  "  they  were  Eng- 
lish." Mr.  Lea,  however,  at  that  early  period,  found 
that  he  could  weave  more  silk  stockings  than  there 
were  legs,  except  he  went  to  France,  to  wear  them ; 
where  he  appears  to  have  done  well,  until  the  assas- 
sination of  the  French  king,  Henry  IV.,  his  patron, 
left  him  in  a  state  of  destitution. 

The  success  of  the  silk  culture  in  France  had  a 
powerful  influence  on  James  I.  of  England.  "  Having 
seen,"  says  he,  "  that  in  a  few  years,  our  Ijrother,  the 
French  king,  hath,  since  his  coming  to  that  crown, 
both  began  and  brought  to  perfection  the  making  of 
silk  in  his  country,  whereby  he  has  won  to  himself 
honour,  and  to  his  subjects  a  marvellous  increase  of 
wealth," — to  which  preamble  he  adds,  "That  from 
the  experience  of  many  private  persons,  who  had 
bred  silk  worms  for  their  pleasure,  nothing  had  ap- 
peared to  cause  a  doubt  that  they  may  be  nourished 
and  reared  in  England,  provided  there  were  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  mulberry  trees  to  supply  them  with 
food."  To  provide  which  James,  by  circular  letters 
in  1608,  recommends  the  planting  of  mulberry  trees 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  different  counties  of  England, 

However  strong  the  influence  of  royal  recommen- 
dation may  be,  yet  that  of  climate,  opposed  to  it  in 
this  case,  is  said  to  have  prevailed.  According  to 
documents  existing  in  1620,  it  appears  that  the  peo- 
ple were  wilUng,  and  the  mulberry  trees  grew,  as  if 
by  royal  mandate,  but  neither  the  climate  nor  the  sflk 
worms  were  obedient  subjects,  and  the  king,  there- 
fore, turned  his  attention  to  the  American  colonies. 
The  project,  however,  relative  to  the  production  of 
the  raw  material  in  England,  was  renewed  in  1629, 
and  in  1718  ;  also  in  Ireland  so  late  as  in  1815,  with 
a  similar  consequence.  But  since  the  white  mulberry 
is  said  to  have  grown  there,  and  to  have  put  forth 
shoots  in  the  first  ye'ar,  twenty  inches  in  length,  the  silk 
worms  to  have  been  successfully  reared  for  private 
amusement,  the  raw  material  to  have  been  produced 
in  the  colder  and  more  northern  climate  of  Sweden, 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  91 

and  the  humidity  of  that  of  Great  Britain,  to  be  capa- 
ble of  correction  by  a  DandoUere,  or  cocoonery  on  the 
plan  of  Count  Dandolo,  no  reason  completely  satis- 
factory, especially  since  the  discovery  of  the  multi- 
caiilis,  has  been  as  yet  assigned,  for  the  want  of  suc- 
cess in  the  production  of  raw  silk  either  in  England 
or  Ireland. 

How  far,  or  on  what  occasions,  consistently  with 
the  welfare  of  the  several  trading  communities  of  a 
nation,  the  "powers  that  be,"  whether  invested  in 
one  or  more  individuals,  can  interfere  with  its  com- 
mercial regulations,  is,  as  already  observed,  an  im- 
portant inquiry  ;  and  it  is  the  business  of  history,  if 
not  to  decide,  at  least  to  produce  facts  to  illustrate 
this  question.  In  conformity  with  this  view,  the  re- 
cord of  the  events  mentioned  in  the  note  subjoined, 
together  with  Dr.  Lardner's  remarks  cannot  be  well 
omitted.* 

*  The  progress  made  in  the  wea\-ing  of  broad  silks,  "  May  he  further 
collected  from  the  terms  of  a  proclamation  issued  in  the  year  1630,  by 
Charles  I.,  setting  forth,  that  the  trade  in  silk  within  the  realm,  by  the 
importation  thereof  raw  from  foreign  part5,  and  throwing,  dyeing,  and 
working  the  same  into  manufactures  here  at  home,  is  much  increased 
•within  a  few  years  past.  But  a  fraud  in  the  dyeing  thereof  being  lately 
discovered,  by  adding  to  the  weight  of  silk  in  the  dye,  beyond  a  just 
proportion,  by  a  false  and  deceitful  mixture  in  the  ingredient  used  in 
dyeing,  whereby  also  the  silk  is  weakened  and  corrupted,  and  the  colour 
made  worse ;  wherefore  we  strictly  command,  that  no  silk  dyer  do  hereafter 
use  any  slip,  alder-bark,  fihngs  of  irons,  or  other  deceitful  matter  in 
dyeing  silk,  either  black  or  coloured ;  that  no  silk  shall  be  dyed  any  other 
black  but  Spanish  black,  and  not  of  the  dye  called  London  black,  or 
light  weight,  neither  shall  they  dye  any  silk  before  the  gum  be  fair 
boiled  nff  from  the  silk  being  raw."  The  same  monarch,  in  the  year 
1638,  issued  directions  removing  in  part,  the  prohibitions  imposed  by 
his  former  proclamation,  and  permitting  such  silk  to  be  dyed  upon  the 
gum,  commonly  called  hard  silk,  as  was  proper  for  making  tufted  taf- 
fetas, figured  satins,  fine  silk  ribands,  and  ferret  ribands  both  black  and 
coloured ;  and  as  his  reason  for  this  departure  from  his  former  directions 
stated,  with  a  degree  of  candour  not  always  admitted  into  the  edicts 
of  princes,  that  he  had  now  become  better  informed  upon  the  subject 
This  order  further  directed,  that  no  stuffs  made  or  mixed  with  silk  should 
be  imported,  if  of  a  less  breadth  than  a  full  half  yard,  nail  and  half  nail, 
on  pain  of  forfeiture." 

'•  It  will  be  remarked  that  this  misguided  and  unfortunate  prince  thus 
took  upon  himself  to  regulate,  by  the  authority  of  proclamations,  matters 


92  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

Though  in  the  preamble  of  the  act  passed  in  IGGl, 
(13  and  14  Car.  II.,  c.  15,)  we  are  informed  that  the 
company  of  silk  throwsters  in  London,  then  employed 
40,000  men,  women,  and  children  ;  yet  the  existence 
of  any  snch  nnmber  engaged  in  the  silk  trade,  at  any 
one  time  in  London,  prior  to  the  revocation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantes,  is,  perhaps,  notwithstanding  some- 
what questionable. 

It  is  an  acknowledged  fact  on  the  pages  of  history, 
that  no  other  event  has  contributed  so  much  towards 
a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  in  relation  to  the 
culture  and  manufacture  of  silk,  as  religious  persecu- 
tion. Those  bigoted  gentlemen  of  the  monoculi  genus, 
who  would  machine  men  to  think  precisely  as  they 
do,  whether  they  can  or  not,  or  screw  them  down  to 
it  by  the  razor  wheel,  little  dream  how  great  a  bless- 
ing their  own  act  is  conferring  on  others,  whilst  it  is 
inflicting  indelible  infamy  on  themselves.  Previous 
to  the  accession  of  Henry  IV.  to  the  throne  of  France, 
in  1594,  the  manufacture  of  silk  was  principally  con- 
ducted by  the  Huguenots,  a  protestant  sect  in  France. 
The  Huguenots  quietly  submitted  to  the  government 
of  Henry,  until  he  changed  his  religious  principles, 
and  allied  himself  to  the  dominant  party,  with  whom 
the  Huguenots  were  not  unfrequently  at  open  war- 
fare. The  defection  of  the  king,  who  had  been 
avowedly  their  protector,  alarmed  the  Huguenots 
and  threatened  the  tranquillity  of  his  reign.     In  this 

which  had  been  previously  ordered  by  acts  of  parliament.  In  many  of 
these  orders  the  king  was  guided  by  his  own  impulses,  or  influenced 
by  the  persuasions  of  others,  rather  than  any  sound  or  enlightened  views 
of  the  nature  of  commerce ;  and  he  endeavoured  to  render  the  trade  of 
his  country  subservient  to  his  political  designs.  In  another  proclama- 
tion, issued  by  him  for  the  reforming  of  abuses,  which  it  was  alleged 
had  crept  into  practice  in  the  manufacture  and  breadth  of  silks ;  the 
Weaver's  Company  were  empowered  to  admit  into  their  commonalty, 
a  competent  number  of  such  persons,  whether  strangers  or  natives,  as 
had  exercised  the  trade  of  weaving  for  one  year  at  least;  provided  the 
parties  so  admitted  should  be  conformable  to  the  laws  of  the  realm,  and 
to  the  constitution  of  the  church  of  England;  as  though  the  fabrics 
which  they  wrought  were  susceptible  of  contamination,  if  touched  by 
heretical  hands !" 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  93 

dilemma,  two  opposite  interests  to  serve,  a  compro- 
mise of  some  kind  was  necessary.  From  motives  of 
policy  rather  than  principle,  the  heads  of  the  party 
of  Nantes  were  assembled,  and  the  celebrated  edict, 
M'hich  bears  the  name  of  that  place,  was  passed 
granting  to  the  Huguenots  every  thing  necessary  for 
their  security:  and  for  their  satisfaction  it  was  further 
declared  that  the  edict  should  be  irrevocable. 

Notwithstanding  this,  this  said  irrevocable  edict 
was  revoked  by  Louis  XIV.  on  the  23d  of  October, 
16So.  Thus  while  the  worship  of  the  Huguenots  was 
suppressed,  their  churches  demolished,  and  their 
ministers  banished,  the  protestant  laity  were  forbid- 
den, under  the  most  rigorous  penalties  to  quit  the 
kingdom.  France,  however,  by  this  measure,  lost 
more  than  half  a  million  of  her  most  industrious  and 
useful  subjects:  an  event  that  soon  proved  highly  be- 
neficial to  other  countries,  which  those  who  decreed 
that  measure  had  not  the  skill  to  foresee.  About 
70,000  of  these  refugees  made  their  way  into  England 
and  Ireland ;  of  which  number,  a  large  part,  particu- 
larly those  who  were  conversant  with  the  fabrication 
of  silks,  settled  at  Spitalfields,  and  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  brocades,  satins,  black  and  coloured 
mantuas,  black  paduasoys,  ducapes,  watered  tabbies, 
alamodes,  lustrings,  and  black  velvets,  of  the  manu- 
facture of  which  the  English  were  previously  igno- 
rant. To  the  above  mentioned  intolerant  and  perfi- 
dious transaction,  England  is  indebted  for  a  knowledge 
of  that  manufacture  for  which  she  is  now  so  celebrated. 
The  silk  trade,  generally,  was  by  this  means  improved. 
The  English  rtceived  the  refugees  with  hospitality, 
and  their  industry  was  encouraged  with  a  zeal  that 
declared,  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  that  the 
v»'earing  of  silk,  under  those  circumstances,  was  a 
proof  of  attachment  to  the  protestant  cause  and  of 
that  charity  which  the  protestant's  gospel  enjoins  to 
be  practised  towards  the  unfortunate,  whether  friend 
or  foe. 

Previous  to  the  settlement  of  the  French  refugees, 


94  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

lustrings  and  alamode  silks  were  imported;  but  the 
perfection  to  which  those  articles  were  soon  brought, 
by  the  Spitalfield  weavers,  rendered  further  importa- 
tion unnecessary.  The  persons  engaged  therein  were, 
therefore,  incorporated,  and  by  two  successive  acts, 
(1392  and  1 698,)  protectedagainst  foreign  competition. 
But  neither  the  parliament  nor  the  manufacturers  had 
the  prescience  to  guard  against  what  rendered  such 
protection  nugatory.  A  change  in  the  public  taste 
directed  the  current  of  custom  into  a  channel  that 
caused  the  expenditure  of  the  company's  capital  to 
be  unproductive,  except  to  serve  as  a  lesson  on  the 
precarious  tenure  of  objects,  whose  foundation  is  not 
necessity,  but  caprice  and  fashion. 

France  and  England  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in 
1713,  contemplated  a  sort  of  reciprocity,  by  which, 
on  the  payment  of  a  trifling  ad  valorem  duty,  the 
manufacturers  of  each  kingdom  were  to  be  admitted 
into  the  other.  But  no  sooner  do  subjects  of  this  na- 
ture become  topics  of  national  discussion  than  we  see 
two  judges  in  the  court.  The  one  pronounces  the 
policy  of  such  free  trade  or  reciprocity  to  be  liberal  and 
enlightened,  and  the  other  affirms  that  it  is  injurious 
to  the  interests  of  domestic  manufacture,  and  ruinous 
to  the  artisan.  Great  names  are,  and  have  long  been, 
enlisted  on  each  alternative  of  this  dilemma;  nations 
have  been  assembled  and  volumes  expended  on  this 
discussion,  but,  "  adhuc  sub  judice  lis  est,'^  the 
question  is  yet  unsettled,  except  in  minds  possessed 
of  only  partial  premises.  These  generally  have  the 
temerity  to  decide;  though  it  is  well  known  that 
many  advantages,  equal  or  unequal,  belong  to  each 
scale;  and  it  is  necessary  to  have  all  the  weights  in 
on  each  side,  before  we  can  perceive  to  which  the 
correct  balance  inclines. 

Had  Dr.  Lardner  and  others,  who  have  written  on 
the  History  of  Silk,  not  discovered  an  inclination, 
from  ex  parte  evidence,  to  come  to  a  decision,  we 
should  have  felt  ourselves  happily  released  from  this 
subject,  though  of  national  importance.     But  occu- 


HISTOUY    OF    SILK.  95 

pying  at  present,  somewhat  similar  ground,  it  remains 
only  to  say,  "  sequor  non  passibus  asqiiis/'  to  supply, 
however,  facts  as  yet  furnished  by  none,  leaving  it 
rather  to  others,  and  to  that  further  experience,  which 
time  alone  can  give,  to  pronounce  the  verdict  not  of 
one,  but  of  nations,  on  this  vital  question  in  political 
economy,  in  which  the  silk  as  well  as  any  other  ma- 
nufacture is  involved. 

By  some  the  protective  system  is  placed  on  a  level 
with  any  monopoly  that  benefits  the  few,  but  op- 
presses the  many  ;  not  knowing,  however,  that  when 
the  artisan  is  encouraged  he  is  rendered  a  consumer 
as  well  as  a  producer  to  the  full  extent  of  his  wages, 
and  this  supports  domestic  industry,  of  far  greater 
consequence  than  any  foreign  trade  whatever,  that 
takes  specie  out  instead  of  bringing  it  in.  Others  tell 
us,  that  when  the  productions  of  art  are  protected, 
the  inventive  faculty  slumbers,  and  if  foreign  compe- 
tition be  removed,  improvement  ceases.  This  is  spe- 
cious :  may  pass  off  as  a  flash  note  amongst  the 
many ;  but  will  not  weigh  against  harder  coin. 
Though  the  foreign  merchant  be  not  in  the  market, 
domestic  competition  exists ;  and  the  competitor  at 
home  naturally  looks  abroad  for  materials  to  give 
him  a  precedency  which  his  neighbour  cannot  other- 
wise obtain.  Besides,  so  restricted  are  many  articles 
in  their  use,  that  all  improvement  beyond  a  certain 
point  is  a  matter  of  mere  secondary  consequence,  the 
creature  more  of  fancy  than  service  ;  and  not  of  any 
importance  to  constitute  an  argument  to  oppose  the 
welfare  and  comfort  of  the  many  thousands  that  com- 
pose an  industrious  community. 

Neither  has  the  American  press  been  unemployed 
in  lauding  the  late  Mr.  Huskisson  to  the  skies,  on  the 
score  of  his  opposition  to  the  navigation  act,  his  free 
trade  and  reciprocity  bills ;  and,  of  course,  for  his 
pseudo  services  to  the  English  manufacturers  of  silk. 
Had  not  the  English  silk  weavers,  cotton  spinners, 
and  operatives  of  all  classes,  had  many  enemies  in 
the  shape  oi  false  friends,  why  do  they  come  over 


96  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

here?  By  Huskisson's  enlii^htened  patriotism  the 
ships  of  continental  Europe  became  in  possession  of 
the  carrying  trade  of  Great  Britain  ;  they  would  re- 
ceive only  hard  cash  for  their  cargoes,  without  taking 
a  single  box  or  bale  of  English  manufacture  in  re- 
turn,* whilst  thousands  of  British  ships,  involving 
millions  of  property,  were  rotting  in  the  docks.  The 
sufferings  of  myriads  of  silk  weavers  at  Spitalfields, 
Macclesfield,  and  Dublin  employed  Michael  Thomas 
Saddler,t  and  other  powerful  advocates  against  the 
sophistry  of  Huskisson,  Fitzgerald,  and  Thompson, 
and  other  political  neologists  ;  but  they  were  opposed 
by  the  fallacy  that  regards  the  extent  of  production 
without  reference  to  the  profit  of  the  manufacturer, 
or  benefit  to  the  artisan.  Huskisson 's  policy  was 
liberal  in  theory,  but  slavery  in  practice;  and  so 
enlightened  in  the  abstract,  as  to  deprive  forever  of 
education  the  offspring  of  the  labourer,  who  had  to 
toil  from  eight  to  fourteen  hours  in  the  day  to  supply 
the  deficiency  of  his  parent's  weekly  earnings.  Those 
that  would  compass  heaven  and  earth  to  serve  the 
foreign  at  the  expense  of  the  home  trade,  were  loud  in 
their  acclamations  against  slavery  amongst  the  blacks, 
without  having  any  wish  to  remember  that  a  larger 
volume  of  slavery,  produced  by  their  own  measures, 
existed  amongst  the  whites  of  a  realm,  whose  shores 
were  said  to  be  such,  that  the  slave  at  the  moment 
of  contact  with  them  became  instantly  free  ! ! 

The  year  1718  was  rendered  important  in  the  his- 
tory of  silk  in  consequence  of  the  unexampled  assi- 
duity of  a  youth  to  introduce  in  England,  the  throwst- 
ing  mill.  Relative  to  this  subject  we  are  furnished 
with  the  following  interesting  facts  by  Dr.  Lardner. 


•  This,  as  may  be  attested  by  authentic  documents,  was,  in  many 
cases,  literally  the  fiict. 

+  The  author  of  "  Ireland,  its  Evils,  and  their  Remedies ;"  also  of  an 
able  work,  involving  a  very  singular  theory,  on  "  the  Laws  of  the  In- 
crease and  Decrease  of  Population."  Few  have  given  so  many  proofs, 
as  it  refers  to  the  secular  concerns  of  men,  of  their  possession  of  sterling 
philanthropy  as  M.  T.  Saddler. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  97 

"Up  to  the  year  171S,  our  machinery  was  so  defect- 
ive, that  this  country  was,  in  a  great  degree,  dependent 
on  the  throwsters  of  Italy  for  the  supply  of  organzined 
silk;  but  at  that  time,  Mr.  John  Lombe*  of  Derby, 


*  "  There  were  three  brothers,  Thomas,  Henry,  and  John ;  the  first 
was  one  of  the  sheriffs  of  London,  at  the  accession  of  George  II.,  in  1727, 
on  which  occasion,  he  was  knighted.  About  this  time,  the  ItaUans  had 
introduced  great  improvement  in  the  art  of  throwing  silk,  and  rendered 
it  impossible  for  the  Lombes,  who  were  engaged  in  the  silk  throwing 
business  in  London,  to  bring  their  goods  into  the  market  upon  any  thing- 
like  terms  of  equality  with  the  Italian.  The  younger  brother  was  a  lad 
at  that  time.  By  the  laws  of  the  Italians,  it  was  made  death,  for  any 
one  to  discover  any  thing  connected  with  the  silk  manufacture :  with 
this  addition,  the  forfeiture  of  his  goods,  and  his  person  and  name  to 
be  painted  outside  of  the  prison  walls,  hanging  to  the  gallows  by  one 
foot,  with  an  inscription  to  remaiia  as  an  indelible  mark  of  infamy. 
Young  Lombe,  however,  was  not  to  be  deterred.  On  his  arrival,  and 
before  he  became  known,  he  went,  accompanied  by  a  friend,  to  see  the 
silk  works.  No  person  was  admitted  except  when  the  machinery  was 
in  action,  and  even  then  he  was  hurried  through  the  rooms  with  the 
most  jealous  caution.  The  celerity  of  the  machinery  rendered  it  im- 
possible for  Mr.  Lombe  to  comprehend  all  the  dependencies,  and  first 
springs  of  so  extensive  and  complicated  a  work.  He  went  with  differ- 
ent persons  in  various  habits,  as  a  gentleman,  a  priest,  or  a  lady,  and 
he  was  very  generous  with  his  money  ;  but  he  could  never  find  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  the  machinery  put  in  motion,  or  of  giving  to  it  that 
careful  attention  which  was  his  object.  Despairing  of  obtaining  ade- 
quate information  from  such  cursory  inspection,  he  bethought  himself 
of  associating  with  some  clergyman  ;  and  being  a  man  of  letters,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  ingratiating  himself  with  the  priest  who  confessed  the  family 
to  which  the  works  belonged.  He  seems  to  have  opened  his  plans, 
partly  at  least,  to  this  person,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  found  means  to 
obtain  his  co-operation.  According  to  the  scheme  adopted,  Mr.  Lombe 
disguised  himself  as  a  poor  youth  in  want  of  employment.  The  priest 
then  introduced  him  to  the  directors  of  the  vpork,  and  gave  him  a  good 
character  for  honesty  and  diligence,  and  described  him  as  inured  to 
hardships.  He  accordingly  engaged  as  filature  boy,  to  superintend  a 
spinning  engine.  His  mean  appearance  procured  him  accommodation 
in  the  place  which  his  design  made  the  most  acceptable  to  him.  While 
others  slept,  he  was  awake,  and  diligently  employed  in  his  arduous  and 
dangerous  undertaking.  He  had  possessed  himself  of  a  dark  lantern, 
tinder  box,  wax  candles,  and  a  case  of  mathematical  instruments.  In 
the  daytime,  these  were  secreted  in  a  hole  under  the  stairs  where  he 
used  to  sleep.  He  then  went  on  making  drawings  of  every  part  of  this 
grand  and  useful  machinery' ;  the  priest  often  in(}uircd  after  his  boy, 
and  through  his  agency,  Lombe  conveyed  his  drawings  to  Messrs.  Glo- 
ver and  Unwiiis,  at  Leghorn,  the  correspondents  of  the  Lombes,  who 
made  models  from  them,  which  were  despatched  piecemeal  to  England, 

9 


98  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

having  in  the  disguise  of  a  common  workman,  suc- 
ceeded in  taking  accurate  drawings  of  silk  throwsling 
machinery  in  Piedmont,  erected  a  stupendous  mill  for 
that  purpose  at  Derby,  and  obtained  a  patent  for  the 
sole  and  exclusive  property  in  the  same,  during  the 
space  of  fourteen  years.  This  grand  machine  was 
constructed  with  26,580  wheels  and  97,746  move- 
ments, which  worked  73,726  yards  of  organzine  silk 
thread  with  every  revolution  of  the  water  wheel,  and 
as  this  revolved  three  times  in  each  minute,  the  almost 
inconceivable  quantity  of  318,504,960  yards  of  organ- 
zine could  be  produced  daily  !  Only  one  water  wheel 
was  employed  to  give  motion  to  the  whole  of  this 
machinery,  the  contrivance  of  which  was  such  that 
any  one  or  more  of  the  movements  might  be  controlled 
or  stopped,  without  obstructing  the  continued  action 
of  the  rest.  The  building  wherein  this  machinery 
was  erected  was  of  great  extent,  being  five  stories  in 
height,  and  occupying  one-eighth  of  a  mile  in  length. 
So  long  a  time  was  occupied  in  the  construction  of 
this  machinery,  and  so  vast  was  the  outlay  it  occa- 
sioned, that  the  original  duration  of  the  patent  proved 
insufficient  for  the  adequate  remuneration  of  its 
founder;  who,  on  these  grounds,  applied  to  parlia- 
ment, in  the  year  1731,  for  an  extension  of  the  term 
for  which  his  privilege  had  been  granted.  This, 
however,  in  consideration  of  the  great  national  im- 

in  bales  of  silk.  After  Lombe  had  completed  his  desifpi,  he  remained 
at  the  mill  until  some  English  ship  should  be  on  the  point  of  sailing  for 
England.  When  this  happened,  he  left  the  works  and  hastened  on 
board.  Meanwhile  his  absence  had  occasioned  suspicion,  and  an  Italian 
brig  was  despatched  in  pursuit,  but  the  English  vessel  happily  proved 
the  better  sailer  of  the  two,  and  he  escaped.  It  was  said  that  the  priest 
was  put  to  the  torture,  but  another  states  tliat  after  Mr.  Lombe's  return 
to  England,  an  Italian  j)riest  was  much  in  his  company,  and  it  is  the 
opinion  that  this  was  the  priest  in  t(uestion.  The  common  account  of 
Mr.  Lombe's  death  is,  that  the  Italians  exasperated  at  the  injury  done 
their  trade,  sent  over  to  Ejigland  an  artful  woman,  who  associated  with 
Mr.  Lombe's  Italian  servants  engaged  in  his  works,  and  having  gained 
over  one,  poison  was  administered,  of  which,  it  is  said,  Mr.  Lombe  died 
on  the  premises,  on  the  1  Gth  November,  1 722,  in  the  twenty-ninth  year 
of  his  age." — Roberts'  Manual;  Silk  Grower,  <S^c. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  99 

portance  of  the  object,  which  was  opposed  to  its  con- 
tinued limitation  in  the  hands  of  any  individual,  was 
not  granted;  but  parliament  voted  the  sum  of  £14,000 
to  Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  as  some  consideration  for  the 
eminent  services  rendered  by  him  to  the  nation,  in 
discovering  with  so  much  personal  risk  and  labour, 
and  in  bringing  to  perfection,  at  great  expense,  a  work 
so  beneficial  to  the  kingdom.  The  grant  being  made 
upon  the  sole  condition  that  competent  persons  should 
be  allowed  to  execute  an  exact  model  of  the  machi- 
nery, to  be  deposited  in  such  a  place  as  his  majesty 
should  appoint,  in  order  to  diffuse  and  perpetuate  the 
manufacture.  The  act  authorizing  the  issue  of  the 
money  mentions  among  other  causes  justifying  the 
grant,  "  the  obstruction  offered  to  Sir  T.  Lombe's  un- 
dertaking by  the  king  of  Sardinia,  in  prohibiting  the 
exportation  of  the  raw  silk  which  the  engines  were 
intended  to  work." 

The  history  of  the  silk  manufacture,  in  England 
after  this,  abounds  with  a  multitude  of  acts  of  parlia- 
ment, of  local  consequence,  and  therefore  more  suited 
to  the  English  than  to  the  American  reader.  They 
are  standing  evidence,  however,  of  what  importance 
this  branch  of  national  industry  was  estimated  by  the 
British  legislature ;  and  as  documents  they  are  valu- 
able in  affording  a  series  of  statistical  testimony,  of 
the  constantly  increasing  magnitude  and  prosperity 
of  this  manufacture  in  the  British  Isles. 

In  the  year  1783,  the  different  branches  of  the  silk 
manufacture  amounted  in  value  to  £3,350,000.  Soon 
after  the  year  1825,  the  number  of  throwsting  mills 
in  the  country  were  registered  at  266  ;  of  spindles  at 
1,180,000;  and  of  the  looms  employed  in  Spitalfields 
alone  at  17,000. 

In  the  year  1821,  we  find  the  following  instructive 
extracts  from  the  minutes  of  evidence  before  both 
houses  of  parliament  on  the  subject  of  the  silk  trade 
and  manufacture. 

"  Silk  is  principally  imported  from  Bengal,  China, 


100  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

Italy,  and  Turkey.  The  average  of  late  years, 
amounts  fully  to  1,800,000  lbs.  Bengal  sends  near 
800,000  lbs.;  China  about  100,000  lbs.;  Turkey  the 
same.  The  remainder  comes  from  Italy.  The  duties 
on  raw  silk  are  as  follows ;  Bengal  4^.;  Italian,  Tar- 
key,  and  China,  5^.  Ihd.  per  pound.  Italian  organ- 
zine,  \As.  6d.  to  14,y.  l^d.  per  pound.  Prices  paid 
for  organzine  in  England,  7s.  to  10^.  per  pound. 
The  waste  is  from  three  to  fifteen  per  cent.  No 
organzine  is  made  in  France  ;  they  prepare  their 
own  trams  and  singles.  China  silk  is  applicable  to 
hosiery  ;  the  Italian  is  not." 

"  The  price  for  making  organzine  in  Italy  is  from 
3s.  to  4s.  per  pound.  In  England  it  costs  from  7*.  to 
10^.  per  pound.  The  French  are  superior  to  the 
English  in  ribbons,  but  inferior  in  hosiery.  China 
silk  goods  are  heavier  than  English,  but  not  of  a  bet- 
ter quality.  The  China  raw  silk  is  equal  to  most 
Italian,  and  better  than  any  Bengal." 

"In  the  Ik'iigal  silk  there  is  a  kind  of  cottony  or 
fuzzy  substance,  which  is  thrown  up  into  a  pile  or 
knap  when  woven.  The  price  of  Bengal  silk  per 
pound,  duty  included,  is  from  14^.  to  30*.;  that  of 
Italian  from  18.9.  to  35,s." 

"  Nearly  2,000,000  pounds  of  raw  and  thrown  silks 
are  annually  imported  into  England.  This  gives 
employment  to  40,000  hands  in  throwsting  it  for  the 
weaver,  and  their  wages  are  £350,000.  Half  a  mil- 
lion pounds  of  soap,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
costly  dye  stufis  are  consumed,  at  a  farther  expense 
of  £300,000;  and  £265,000  more  are  paid  to  winders 
to  prepare  it.  The  number  of  looms  may  be  taken 
at  40,000;  and  the  weavers,  warpers,  mechanics,  &c. 
to  be  80,000,  whose  wages  amount  to  £3,000,000. 
Including  infants  and  dependents,  400,000  mouths  will 
be  fed  by  this  manufacture ;  the  amount  of  which 
may  be  estimated  at  £10,000,000." 

"  The  price  of  dyeing  at  Lyons  is  15  sous,  or  lid. 
per  pound  ;  and  colours  24  sous,  or  1*.     In  England 


HISTORY    OF    SILK-  101 

the  price  of  the  first  is  2^.,  and  of  the  latter  from 
2^.  6(1.  to  As.  The  drawback  on  silk  goods  in  Eng- 
land is  12*.  per  pound,  on  ribands,  10*.  The  labour 
in  preparing  raw  silk,  affords  much  more  employ- 
ment to  the  country  producing  it,  than  any  other  raw 
material.  The  defect  complained  of  in  the  Bengal 
silk,  is  in  the  preparation.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  the  silk  to  render  it  inapplicable  to  every 
purpose  of  Italian  silk."  ; 

In  the  year  1824,  the  high  duty  on  the  importation  ' 
of  raw  silk  was  abandoned  for  one  merely  nominal ; 
that  on  thrown  silk  was  reduced  nearly  one-half;  and 
the  admission  of  foreign  manufactured  goods  was 
rendered  legal  in  1826,  under  an  ad  valorem,  duty 
equivalent  to  about  thirty  per  cent.* 

*  In  regard  to  the  silk  manufacture,  the  duty  required  in  order  to 
maintain  the  English  weavers  in  the  same  relative  position  which  they 
already  hold  with  those  of  France  is  much  lower  than  might,  without 
inquiry,  be  imagined.  Independent  of  duties,  the  entire  ditference  in 
the  cost  of  one  pound  of  the  best  thrown  silk,  when  manufactured  into 
sixteen  yards  of  Gros  de  Naples,  is  5s.  6c?.,  or  barely  fourteen  and  a  half 
per  cent.,  as  appears  by  the  following  statement. 

Comparative  estimate  of  the  cost  of  one  pound  of  silk  when  manufac- 
tured into  Gros  de  Naples  at  Lyons  and  London. 

In  Lyons. 

£  s.  d. 

Price  current  of  organzine  25s.  per  lb.,  8  oz.  of  which 0  12  6 

Ditto  of  tram  22s.  6rf.  per  lb.,  8  oz.  of  which 0  11  3 

Dyeing,  warp,  and  short 0  0  11 

1     4     8 
Add  4  oz.  for  loss  in  dyeing  and  waste  to  make  16  oz.  when 

manufactured 0     6     2 

s.     d.         1   10  10 

Winding  and  warping I     3 

Weaving  16  yards,  at  4^rf. 6     0 

7     3 


1  18     1 
Difference  in  favour  of  the  French  manufacturer 0     5     6 

2  3     7 


102  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

For  the  information  of  the  exporter,  the  scale  of 
duties  at  present  chargeable  on  the  importation  of 
raw,  thrown,  and  manufactured  silks,  is  furnished  in 
the  note  below.* 

In  London. 

£  s.  d. 

Price  current  of  fine  tram  silk  in  Italy 1  2  6 

Export  duty  and  expenses 0  0  6^ 

Carriage  to  Calais 0  0  3^ 

1     2     4 

Eight  oz.  of  wliicli 0   11     2 

£    s.    d. 
Price  current  of  fine  organzine  in  Piedmont.  .1     3     0 

Duty  and  expenses 0     0     9J 

Carriage  to  Calais 0     0     3^ 

1     4    i~ 

Eight  oz.  of  which 0  12  0^ 

Dyeing,  warp,  and  short 0  I  6 

Four  oz.  for  loss  in  dyeing  and  waste  to  make  16  oz.  when 

manufactured 0  6  2 

s.     d.  1   10  10^ 

Winding  and  warping 2     0^ 

Weaving  16  yards,  reckoning  1  oz.  to  the  yard,  at 

8rf.  per  yard 10     8 

0  12     8^ 


2     3     7 


*  Knuhs,  or  husks  of  silk,  and  waste  of  silk,  the  cwt.  Is.  Raw  silk, 
the  lb.,  \d.  Thrown  silk,  not  dyed,  namely,  singles,  the  lb.,  Is.  Gd, 
Tram,  the  lb.,  2s.  Organzine  and  crape  silk,  the  lb.,  3s.  6d.  Thrown 
silk,  dyed,  namely,  singles  or  tram,  the  lb.,  3s.  Organzine  or  crape  silk, 
the  lb.,  5s.  2d.  Manufactures  of  silk,  or  of  silk  mixed  with  any  other 
material,  namely,  silk  or  satin,  plain,  the  lb.,  1  Is.,  or,  at  the  option  of 
the  officers  of  the  customs,  for  every  jElOO  of  the  value,  £2.5.  Silk  or 
satin  figured  or  brocaded,  the  lb.,  15s.;  or,  at  the  option  of  the  oOicers 
of  the  customs  for  every  X'lOO  of  the  value,  £30.  Gauze,  plain,  the  lb., 
17s.  or  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Gauze  striped,  figured,  or  brocaded, 
the  lb.,  27s.  6c?.,  or  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Velvet,  plain,  the  lb.,  22s., 
or  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Velvet  figured,  the  lb.,  27s.  6d.,  or  30  per 
cent,  ad  valorem.  Ribands,  embossed  or  figured  with  velvet,  the  lb., 
17a'.,  or  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  And  if  mixed  with  gold,  silver,  or 
other  metals,  in  addition  to  the  above  rates  10s.  per  lb.  Fancy  silk, 
net,  or  tricot,  the  lb.,  24f.  Plain  silk  lace,  or  net,  the  square  yard,  Is.  4rf. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  103 

We  may  judge  of  the  immense  quantity  of  raw 
and  thrown  silk  annually  imported  into  Great  Bri- 
tain, from  the  following  quotations  ; 

The  importation  was,  in 

lbs.  lbs. 

1819,  of  raw  silk 1,480,990 

—  thrown 301,588 

1,782,578 

1820,  of  raw  silk 1,702,416 

—  thrown 309,953 

2,012,369 

1821,  of  raw  silk 1,940,5 16 

—  thrown 350,209 

2,290,725 

1822,  of  raw  silk 2,037,415 

—  thrown 370,273 

2,407,688 

1823,  of  raw  silk 2,085,972 

—  thrown 346,314 

2,432,286 

1824,  of  raw  silk 3,540,910 

—  thrown 452,469 

3,993,379 

1825,  of  raw  silk 3,030,756 

—  thrown 556,642 

3,587,398 

1826,  of  raw  silk 1,955,042 

—  thrown 289,325 

2,244,367 

1827,  of  raw  silk 3,755,242 

—  thrown 454,U15 

4,209,257 

Manufactures  of  silk,  or  of  silk  mixed  ivilh  any  other  material,  the 
produce  of  and  imported  from  places  within  the  limits  of  the  East 
India  Company's  charier,  for  every  £100  of  the  value,  £20.  MiUinery 
of  silk,  or  of  which  the  greater  part  of  the  material  is  of  sillv,  naaiel^^  tur- 
bans or  caps,  each  15s.  Hats  or  bonnets,  each  25v.  Dresses,  each  50s., 
or  40  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Manufactures  of  silk,  or  nf  silk  and  any 
other  material,  not  particularly  enumerated,  or  otherwise  charged  with 
duty,  for  every  £100  of  the  value,  £30.  Articles  nf  the  manufacture 
of  silk,  or  of  silk  and  any  other  material,  wholly  or  part  made  up,  not 
particularly  enumerated,  or  otherwise  charged  with  duty,  30  per  cent. 
On  the  exportation  of  silk  manufactured  goods,  government  allows  the 
following  drawbacks.  For  every  pound  weight  of  manufactui'cd  goods, 
composed  of  silk  onlj-,  3?.  &d.  Of  silk  and  cotton  mixed,  one-half  being 
silk,  \s.  2d.  Of  silk  and  worsted,  one-half  being  silk,  7d.  To  prevent 
the  introduction  of  contraband  goods,  the  importation  of  foreign  wrought 
silks  is  restricted  to  the  ports  of  London,  Dublin  and  Dover,  and  the  pri- 
vilege is  conluied  to  ships  of  not  less  than  70  tons  burden. 


104  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

The  importation  was,  in 

1828,  of  raw  silk 4,162,550 

—       thrown 385,262 

4,547,812 

1834,  of  raw  silk 4.340,000 

or  of  raw  and  waste  silk 4,449,456 

From  this  we  learn  that  England  is  now  importing, 
nearly  at  the  rate  of  four  millions  and  a  half  of  raw 
silk  annually,  or  a  quantity  in  value  nearly  equal  to 
^22,000,000  :  the  whole  of  which  might  he  supplied 
by  the  tvide  growing  silk  climes  of  the  United 
Stales. 

Of  the  quantity  of  raw  silk  imported,  above  quoted 
for  the  year  1834,  it  is  said,  that  1,235,104  lbs.  were 
from  France;  1,758,637  lbs.  from  the  British  East 
Indies;  562,834  lbs.  from  China;  419,368  lbs.  from 
Turkey  and  Greece,  and  403,214  lbs.  from  Italy. 

But  it  is  not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  story, 
that  an  American  gentleman,  recently  travelling  in 
England,  was  informed  that  of  the  raw  silk  imported 
into  that  country,  61,105  lbs,  in  1834,  and  27,236  lbs. 
in  1835,  were  supplied  by  the  United  States. 

Of  the  4,340,000  lbs.  of  raw  silk  imported  in  1834, 

The  cost  is  stated  at $20,125,205 

Cost  of  dyeing  ditto 1,640,000 

Of  winding,  weaving,  and  finishing 18,616,695 

Interest  on  capital,  wear,  tear,  «Stc 13,077,605 

$53,459,505 


Tlie  amounts  of  the  value  of  the  manufacture,  as 
to  each  species  of  fabric,  for  1834,  is  quoted  thus : 

Broad  silks. $18,815,000 

Ribands 8,415,000 

Handkerchiefs 2,400,250 

Crapes 1,547,440 

Silk  hose  and  gloves 1,822,450 

Sewing  silks 1 ,248,000 

Mixed  goods 12,480,000 

Miscellaneous 3,246,660 

Sundries 1,892,125 

These  various  manufactures  give  employment  to 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  105 

more  than  208,000  people ;  of  which  there  are  en- 
gaged in 

Persons. 

Broad  silks 55,603 

Eibands 27,765 

Handkerchiefs '. 9,518 

Silk  hose  and  gloves 7,350 

Sewing  silk 1,970 

Mixed   goods 49,452 

Miscellaneous 1 6,726 

In  otlier  kinds 27,832 

The  declared  vakie  of  British  exports  of  manufac- 
tured silks  in  1836,  amounted  to  £917,822.  Its  real 
value  probably  £1,200,000  or  SG,000,000.  Of  which, 
we  learn,  that  the  United  States  took  about  the  value 
of  Si, 200,000.  But  the  most  singular  fact  is,  that 
France,  so  recently  as  1834,  an  exporting  (low\\\.i-y  of 
wrought  silks  to  England,  to  a  very  considerable 
amount  annually,  is  now  of  the  same  article  import- 
ing from  England,  and  in  1836,  to  the  value  of 
§317,000.  This  is  attributed  to  the  constantly  ad- 
vancing improvements  in  the  manufacture  made  in 
Great  Britain. 

The  whole,  whether  for  home  consumption  or  ex- 
port, from  all  the  evidence  we  have  on  the  subject, 
appears  to  be  on  the  rapid  increase  to  that  degree, 
that  the  value  of  silk  fabrics  produced  in  1S37-S, 
it  is  expected,  will  not  fall  short  of  §75,000,000. 

Before  we  take  our  leave  of  the  history  of  silk,  so 
far  as  it  respects  what  is  commonly  called  the  old 
world,  and  cross  an  ocean  to  contemplate  the  rising 
of  a  new,  and  probably  soon  a  greater  theatre  for  the 
growth  of  the  mulberry,  and  the  rearing  of  the  little 
industry-stirring  insect  in  the  new  ivorld,  where,  per- 
haps, at  no  distant  period  hence,  a  scene  of  prosperous 
activity  may  unfold  historic  pages  not  even  yet  anti- 
cipated, that  may  vie  in  extent  and  celebrity  with 
that  of  silk  Empire  the  First ;  we  may  be  allowed 
to  take  a  transient  visit  here  and  there  to  regions 
where  people  of  merely  insular  and  narrower  shores 
are  setting  noble  examples  to  us  who  are  in  possession 
of  one  of  the  choicest  parts  of  a  vast  continent,  so 


106  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

large  that  we  ourselves  scarcely  know  its  length 
or  breadth,  and  what  is  more,  scarcely  yet  do  we 
know  the  varied  and  interminable  blessings  of  its 
many  diversified  soils  and  climates :  "  0  fortunatos 
nimhim,  bona  si  sua  norint,  ^gricolas.''* 

If  any  place  could  appear  not  congenial  to  the  cul- 
ture of  silk,  we  should  have  thought  it  to  be  the  island 
of  Malta,  generally  a  barren  rock,  that  absolutely 
borrows  soil  imported  from  Sicily  and  elsewhere. 
Yet  even  here,  the  mulberry  not  only  grows  and  the 
silk  worm  thrives,  but  the  untiring  enterprise  of  its 
inhabitants,  determined  not  to  be  disappointed  by  its 
new  competitor,  Egypt,  in  the  the  cotton  market,  is 
bending  its  attention  to  silk  with  every  promise  of  a 
favourable  result.  It  is  also  said,  that  even  on  this 
factitious  soil,  the  mulberry  grows  more  rapidly  than 
in  Italy.  What  may  not  be  expected,  when  even 
rocks,  if  invited,  refuse  not  to  be  prolific  ?  And  what 
can  the  island  of  St.  Helena  be  but  a  rock  to  have 
withstood  the  wash  of  the  mighty  Atlantic,  ever  since 
the  days,  perhaps,  of  Peleg  ;  and  here,  also,  we  learn 
that  mulberry  trees  are  flourishing,  and  that  success, 
commensurate  with  the  insular  limits  of  this  solitary 
isle,  are  expected. 

The  Isles  of  France  and  Bourbon  are  more 
fovoured,  since  the  soil  and  climate  are  such  as  to 
produce  Turkey  corn  and  rice  twice  a  year;  and  also 
bananas,  oranges,  citrons,  and  tamarinds ;  and  in 
company  with  these,  we  shall  now  find  the  mystic 
transformation  of  the  produce  of  a  tree  into  the  silken 
robe.  The  French  originally  attempted  to  introduce 
the  culture  here,  but  the  colonies  afterwards  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  English ;  and  we  learn  that 
the  governor  of  the  Mauritius,  Sir  Robert  Farquhar, 
procured,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1815,  silk 
worm  eggs  from  Bengal,  and  intrusted  them  to  the 
care  of  M.  Chazal.  In  March  following,  about  80,000 
cocoons  were  obtained,  and  a  fourth  part  reserved  for 

*  0  ye  husbantlmen,  how  extremely  fortunate,  if  only  ye  knew  youT 
own  privileges. — Virg. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  107 

reproduction  on  the  following  season.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  and  the  distribution  of  silk  worms  to  many 
of  the  colonists,  M.  Chazel  alone,  in  1817,  produced 
116  pounds  of  silk,  or  one  bale,  which  was  conveyed 
to  England  in  the  following  year ;  when  he  claimed 
the  premuim  offered  by  the  Society  for  the  Encou- 
ragement of  Arts  for  the  growth  of  silk  in  the  British 
colonies.  The  most  eminent  silk  brokers  in  London 
pronounced  the  silk  to  be  of  fair  quality,  and  M. 
Chazal  obtained  the  premium. 

The  Silk  Culturist  informs  us  that  "  The  govern- 
ment of  Cuba  is  making  an  effort  to  introduce  the 
culture  of  silk  in  that  island,  with  a  fair  prospect  of 
success.  Being  situated  between  twenty  and  twenty- 
three  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  the  mulberry  will 
be  constantly  in  foliage,  and  a  regular  succession  of 
crops  may  be  made  during  the  whole  year." 

M.  d'Homergue  says,  "  I  have  been  informed  that 
Messrs.  Chabaut  and  Latour  of  Nimes,  were  called 
to  Mexico  some  years  ago  (prior  to  1829)  to  intro- 
duce the  culture  of  silk.  With  the  particulars  of  their 
success  I  am  not  acquainted,  but  it  is  generally  un- 
derstood at  Nimes  that  they  l3oth  died  rich  from  this 
culture.  I  have  since  been  informed,  that  they  made 
beautiful  sewing  silk  at  Mexico,  which  has  been  ac- 
knowledged in  France  to  be  superior  to  any  made  in 
that  country.  The  French  manufacturers  said  they 
could  easily  make  such  silk,  but  that  it  would  cost 
them  too  much.  I  presume  the  Mexicans  employ 
their  best  material  in  that  manufacture,  because  they 
have  not  yet  learned  to  put  it  to  a  better  use.  I  am 
informed  also  that  raw  silk  has  been  exported  from 
this  country  to  IMexico,  and  sold  there  at  a  great 
profit,  although  it  was  very  inferior  to  that  of  this 
country  ;  even  at  eighteen  dollars  a  pound." 

Even  the  inhabitants  of  Lower  Canada,  as  well  as 
those  of  Sweden,  contemplate  the  successful  introduc- 
tion amongst  them  of  the  silk  culture.  Matter  of  fact 
and  history  has  taught  them  that  tlie  slate  of  Vermont 
is  suitable  to  the  growth  of  the  mulberry  and  the  rear- 


108  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

ing,  at  the  proper  season,  of  the  silk  worm;  and, 
therefore,  they  infer,  because  the  winters  of  Lower 
Canada  are  even  milder  than  those  of  Vermont,  that 
they  will  succeed  amongst  them.  The  Farmers' 
Advocate,  published  at  Sherbrooke,  informs  us,  that 
the  white  mulberry  not  only  endures  the  climate,  but 
grows  luxuriantly  in  the  southern  and  eastern  town- 
ships. The  Canadians  are  even  so  sanguine  as  to 
hope,  that  if  due  care  be  employed,  the  colonies  of 
British  America,  may  supply  Great  Britain  with  more 
of  the  raw  material  than  she  imports  from  any  coun- 
try, except  those  beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

NORTH    AMERICA. 

James  the  I.  having  had  fourteen  years,  since  his 
recommendation,  in  1608,  of  the  silk  culture,  to  the 
several  counties  in  England,  to  discover  the  imprac- 
ticability, in  consequence  of  the  climate,  of  rearing 
silk  worms  there,  turned  his  attention  to  North 
America;  and  in  the  year  1622,  in  order  that  his 
manufacturers  at  home  might  draw  their  supplies  of 
the  raw  material  from  his  colonies  abroad,  urged  the 
Virginia  Company  to  promote  the  cultivation  of 
mulberry  trees,  and  the  breeding  of  silk  worms.  To 
the  attainment  of  this  object,  James  did  not  fail  to 
send  over  silk  worm  eggs,  white  mulberry  trees,  and 
printed  instructions.*  He  gave  special  instructions 
to  the  Earl  of  Southampton,  to  urge  the  cultivation 
of  silk  in  the  colonies  in  preference  to  tobacco,  to 
which  his  majesty  appears  to  have  had  an  implacable 
aversion.  The  carl,  therefore,  wrote  to  the  governor  1 
and  council,  desiring  them  to  compel  the  colonists  to  j 
plant  mulberry  trees,  which  met  the  concurrence  of 
the  colonial  assembly  in  1623.  The  act  passed  in 
1656,  describes  the  culture  of  silk  as  the  most  profit- 

*  Written  by  Mr.  John  Bonocil,  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Company, 
who  was  so  confident  of  the  practicability  of  the  plan,  that  he  asserted 
that  with  a  sufficient  number  of  hands,  as  much  silk  might  be  raised  in 
Virginia  as  to  supply  all  Christendom. 


HISTOUT    OF    SILK.  109 

able  for  the  country,  and  a  penalty  of  ten  pounds  of 
tobacco  was  to  be  imposed  on  every  planter  who 
should  fail  to  plant  ten  mulberry  trees  on  every  100 
acres  of  land  in  his  possession  ;  but  a  premium  of 
4000  lbs.  of  tobacco  was  to  be  given  as  an  induce- 
ment to  remain  in  the  country  for  the  purpose  of 
producing  silk;  and  in  the  following  year  a  premium 
of  10,000  lbs.  of  tobacco  was  to  be  awarded  to  the 
exporter  of  £200  worth  of  the  raw  material ;  and 
jOOO  lbs.  of  tobacco  to  the  producer  of  1000  lbs.  of 
wound  silk  in  one  year.  After  various  amendments, 
this  system  of  legislative  rewards  and  penalties  ceased 
in  1669.  "  While  Sir  William  Berkely  was  in  Eng- 
land, on  the  occasion  of  his  reappointment  as  govern- 
or, in  conversation  with  the  king,  his  majesty  strongly 
recommended  the  culture  of  silk,  and  as  an  induce- 
ment to  the  colonists  to  attend  to  his  advice,  men- 
tioned, '  that  he  had  worn  some  of  the  silk  of  Virginia, 
and  found  it  to  be  not  inferior  to  that  raised  in  other 
countries.'  "* 

Though  the  reason  why  this  first  essay  towards  the 
culture  of  silk  in  Virginia  was  not  successful  has  not 
been  assigned,  yet  a  sufficient  one  is  given  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  scarce  work,  entitled  "Me  Trade 
and  Navigation  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  by 
Joshua  Gee,'"  published  in  1760.  "He"  (James  I.) 
"and  his  courtiers  seemed  to  be  very  fond  of  the  under- 
taking, and  letters  were  written  to  Virginia  to  promote 
that  manufacture.  Some  small  progress  was  made 
there,  and  letters  passed  between  the  planters  and  gen- 
tlemen here;  but  as  soon  as  they  thought  that  they 
had  engaged  the  planters  to  begin  upon  it,  instead  of 
promoting  it  heartily,  and  sending  some  able  and 
skilful  persons  to  direct  the  undertaking,  they  threiu 
all  upon  the  planters,  and  that  noble  design  came  to 
nothing ;  whereas  that  of  France  succeeded  to  the 
immense  profit  of  that  kingdom."  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, not  through  any  natural  disabilities  but 

•  Roberts'  Manual. 
10 


110  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

from  the  want  of  proper  connexions  and  facilities,  it 
ceases  to  be  a  matter  of  wonder,  that  the  planters 
found  a  source  of  more  imintdiatc  profit  in  the  growth 
of  tobacco,  for  which  they  met  witii  a  ready  market 
both  in  the  mother  country  and  in  the  north  of  Eu- 
rope.* 

In  the  early  settlement  of  Georgia,  in  the  year 
1732,  a  piece  of  ground,  belonging  to  government, 
was  allotted  as  a  nursery  plantation  for  white  mul- 
berry trees.  Lands  also  were  granted  to  settlers  on 
condition  that  they  planted  100  white  mulberry  trees 
on  every  ten  acres  when  cleared ;  and  ten  years  were 
allowed  for  their  cultivation.  Trees,  seed,  and  the 
eggs  of  the  silk  worm,  were  sent  over  by  the  colonial 
trustees ;  and  an  episcopal  clergyman,  and  a  native  of 
Piedmont  were  engaged  to  instruct  the  people  in  the 
art  of  rearing  the  worms  and  rearing  the  silk.t     By 


*  Mr.  Gee  in  his  chapter  on  Trade  between  England  and  Caholixa, 
remarks,  "  Carolina  lies  in  as  happy  a  climate  as  any  in  the  world,  from 
thirty-two  to  thirty-six  degrees  of  northern  latitude ;  the  soil  is  generally 
fertile.  The  rice  it  produces  is  the  best  in  the  world  ;  and  no  country 
affords  better  silk  than  has  been  brought  from,  thence.  The  rich  grounds 
that  lie  under  the  Apalachian  hills,  are  inviting  places  for  raising  silk. 
If  care  were  taken  to  cultivate  and  improve  the  raising  of  silk  in  our 
plantations,  Carolina,  Vin^inla,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania,  would 
produce  the  best  silk,  and  as  fit  for  organzine  as  any  in  the  world.  The 
vast  riches  of  China,  by  this  manufacture  arc  suilicicnt  to  demonstrate 
the  great  advantages  thereof;  and  the  extraordinaiy  treasure  the  Duke 
of  Savoy  draws  into  his  country  by  silk,  which  is  made  in  that  little 
principality  of  Piedmont,  is  also  another  instance.  We  may  judge,  if 
he  draws  above  £200,000  a  year  from  England,  what  his  profits  are 
which  he  draws  from  Holkmd,  and  other  jilacrs  where  the  manufacture 
is  carried  on  to  a  great  degree.  No  part  of  the  world  is  better  suited  to 
the  silk  worm  than  are  our  colonies ;  no  silk  cleaner,  more  glossy,  of  a 
better  body,  nor  fitter  to  answer  the  use  of  the  fine  thrown  silk  we  have 
from  Italy,  than  the  small  quantity  of  silk  that  has  been  imported  from 
thence.  We  are  told  by  a  gentleman  of  good  intelligence,  that  the 
whole  charge  of  making  a  pound  of  silk  in  China,  does  not  stand  in 
above  five  shillings  ;  and  almost  any  person,  man,  woman,  or  child,  may 
work  at  it ;  and  a  woman  with  a  child  to  direct  the  thread,  may,  with  a 
proper  machine,  reel  from  the  cocoons,  one  pound  a  day." 

■j-  "  In  order  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  the  silk  culture,  and  to  keep 
the  views  of  government  present  before  the  people,  the  public  seal  had 
on  one  side  of  it,  a  representation  of  silk  worms,  with  this  appropriate 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  Ill 

the  manuscript  records  of  those  colonial  trustees, 
it  appears  that  the  first  silk  received  from  Georgia, 
was  in  the  year  1735,  when  eight  pounds  of  raw  silk 
were  exported  from  Savannah  to  England,  where  it 
was  woven  and  presented  to  the  queen.  It  appearing 
desirable  to  the  government  that  the  home  consump- 
tion of  raw  silk  should  be  supplied  from  the  colonies 
rather  than  be  dependent  on  foreign  states,  an  act 
was  passed  in  1749  for  encouraging  the  growth  of 
colonial  silk,  under  the  provisions  of  which,  all  that 
was  certified  to  be  the  production  of  Georgia  and 
Carolina  was  exempted,  on  importation,  from  the 
payment  of  duty.  A  bounty  was  also  offered  for  the 
production  of  silk,  and  an  Italian  gentleman,  named 
Ortolengi,  was  engaged  to  proceed  to  Georgia,  and 
instruct  the  colonists  in  the  Italian  mode  of  manage- 
ment. 

In  a  collection  of  essays  published  by  Doctor  Jared 
Elliot,  of  Killing  worth,*  Connecticut,  we  find  many 
interesting  particulars  in  relation  to  the  early  intoduc- 
tion  of  the  silk  culture  in  America.  From  his  writings 
we  learn  that  Georgia  first  embarked  in  the  pursuit 
under  the  administration  of  Governor  Oglethorpe. 
Dr.  Elliot  says,  by  a  late  account  from  Georgia,  "  it 
appears  that  the  silk  manufactory  is  in  a  flourishing 
way.     In  the  year  1757,  the  weight  of  the  silk  balls" 

motto,  ' xoN  siBi,  SED  ALUS,'  not  for  ourselves,  but  for  others" — 
M'Call's  History  of  Georgia,  vol.  i.  pp.  22.  29. 

*  By  a  pamphlet  published  by  the  Societi/  in  London  for  the  En- 
couragement of  Arts,  yiunufdctures,  and  Commerce,  we  learn,  that  in 
1761,  the  following  gentlemen,  their  correspondents,  were  by  them  au- 
thorized to  pay  premiums  in  their  respective  colonies,  "  for  merchant- 
able raw  silk,  raised  and  produced  therein,"  viz.  Dr.  Jared  Elliot,  the 
Rev.  T.  Clap,  president  of  Yale  College,  Jared  Ingersoll,  Esq.,  of  Con- 
necticut, Benjamin  Franklin,  LL.D.,  and  John  Hughes,  Esq.,  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  George  Polljck,  CuUen  Pollock,  and  John  Rutherford,  Esqs., 
of  North  Carohna.  The  premiums  were,  "  for  every  pound  of  cocoons 
produced  in  the  province  of  Georgia,  in  1761,  of  a  hard,  weighty,  and 
good  substance,  wherein  one  worm  only  has  spun  in  them,  three  pence  ; 
for  every  pound  of  cocoons  in  which  two  worms  had  spun  in  one  co- 
coon, two  pence.  So  far  as  Georgia  was  concerned,  the  cocoons  were 
to  be  brought  to  the  tilature  at  Savannah  under  the  direction  of  M. 
Ortolengi.     Thus  it  appears  there  was  then  a  filature  at  SavannaL 


112  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

(cocoons)  "  received  at  the  filature  was  only  1052  lbs. 
last  year  produced  7040  lbs. ;  and  this  year  already 
above  10,000  lbs. ;  and  it  is  very  remarkable  that  the 
raw  silk,  exported  from  Georgia,  sells  at  London  from 
two  to  three  shillings  a  pound  more  than  that  from 
any  other  part  of  the  world."  A^  the  time  Avhen  Mr. 
Elliot  wrote,  1759,  Georgia  was  increasing  in  the  silk 
business.  A  severe  loss  was  sustained  by  those  who 
had  embarked  in  this  enterprise  in  Georgia,  in  the 
year  1758,  by  the  filature  and  storehouse  taking  fire, 
and  being  consumed  together  with  a  quantity  of  raw 
silk,  and  eight  thousand  tvcight  of  cocoons.  The 
quantity  destroyed  enables  us  to  form  some  judgment 
relative  to  the  extent  of  the  silk  business  at  that  early 
day.  Dr.  Elliot  says,  that  in  the  year  when  his  essay 
Avas  written,  those  who  had  given  their  attention  to 
the  production  of  silk,  informed  him,  "  that  it  was 
viore profitable  than  any  other  ordinary  business.^'* 
It  appears  from  other  authorities,  that  the  public 
filature  was  erected  in  1751  by  order  of  the  colonial 
trustees.  The  exports  of  silk  from  1750  to  1754, 
amounted  to  the  value  of  ^SSSO.  In  1757,  one  thou- 
sand and  fifty  pounds  of  raw  silk  were  received  at  the 
filature.  In  the  year  1759,  the  colony  exported  up- 
wards of  10,000  weight  of  raw  silk.  According  to  an 
official  statement  of  William  Brown,  controller  of  the 
customs  of  Savannah,  SS29  pounds  of  raw  silk  were 
exported  between  the  years  1755  and  1772  inclusive. 
The  last  parcel  brought  for  sale  to  Savannah,  was  in 
the  year  1790,  when  upwards  of  200  weight  were 
purchased  for  exportation  at  from  eighteen  shillings  to 
twenty-six  shillings  per  pound.  "  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  cotton  plant  proved  so  ad- 


*  He  says,  "  some  years  past,  I  asked  a  man  of  good  faith  and  credit, 
wlio  had  then  made  the  most  sillv  of  any  among  us,  what  {)rofit  might 
be  made  of  it  1  His  reply  was,  that  he  could  make  a  yard  of  silk  as 
cheap  as  he  could  make  a  yard  of  linen  cloth,  of  eight  run  to  the  pound, 
A  woman  of  experience  in  this  business  told  nie,  that  in  the  short  time 
of  feeding  the  worms  and  winding  the  silk  balls,  she  could  earn  enough 
to  hire  a  good  spinner  the  whole  year." 


HISTOllY    OP    SILK.  113 

vantageoiis  to  the  planters  in  Georgia  as  to  become, 
at  the  period  when  the  bounty  was  suspended,  a  su- 
perior temptation."* 

The  silk  cuhure,  it  is  asserted,  commenced  in  South 
Carolina  about  the  same  time,  1732,  as  in  Georgia, 
and  began  at  once  to  be,  as  it  should,  a  fashionable 
occupation.  The  ladies^  of  South  Carolina  hesi- 
tated not  to  devote  their  attention  to  what  had,  from 
time  immemorial,  constituted  the  care  of  a  long  line 
of  empresses  of  the  Celestial  Empire.  Though  the 
quantity  of  silk  produced,  during  the  first  epoch  of 
its  culture  in  Carolina  was  small, J  yet  we  have  the 
highly  credible  testimony  of  the  celebrated  Sir  Thomas 
Lombe,  that  its  quality  was  excellent  and  equal  to 
any  produced  in  Italy.§ 

Authors  differ  relative  to  the  time  when  the  silk 
culture  was  first  introduced  into  Pennsylvania.  M. 
d'Homergue  says,  "In  the  year  1769,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  Dr.  Franklin,  through  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  a  filature  of  raw  silk  was  esta- 

*  "  A  paper  was  laid  before  the  Commissioners  for  Trade  and  Planta- 
tions, by  about  forty  eminent  silk  throwsters  and  weavers,  declaring 
that,  having  examined  a  parcel  of  about  :300  lbs.  of  Georgia  raw  silk, 
imported  in  February  last,  they  found  the  nature  and  texture  of  it  truly 
good,  the  colour  beautiful,  the  thread  even,  and  clean  as  the  best  Pied- 
mont, and  capable  of  being  worked  with  less  waste  than  China  silk." — 
London  Magazine  for  1755. 

j-  In  the  year  1755,  Mrs.  Pinckney,  the  same  lady,  who  about  ten 
years  before,  had  introduced  the  indigo  plant  into  South  Carolina,  took 
with  her  to  England,  a  quantity  of  excellent  silk,  which  she  had  raised 
and  spun  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  sufficient  to  make  three  dresses; 
one  of  them  was  presented  to  the  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales,  and 
another  to  Lord  Chesterfield.  They  were  allowed  to  be  equal  to  any 
silk  ever  imported.  The  third  dress,  now  (1809)  in  Charleston,  in  the 
possession  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Horry,  is  remarkable  for  its  beauty, 
firmness,  and  strength." — Ramsay's  History  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  i. 
p.  221, 

t  In  the  years  1742,  1748,  1749,  1750,  1753,  1755.— Dodsley's  An- 
nual Register,  1761. 

§  An  impartial  inquiry  into  the  state  of  Georgia. — London,  1741, 
p.  79. 

At  new  Bordeaux,  a  French  settlement,  70  miles  above  Augusta, 
Georgia,  the  people  supplied  much  of  the  high  country  with  sewing  silk 
during  the  revolutionary  war. 

10* 


114  HISTOKY    OF    SILK. 

blished  at  Philadelphia,  by  private  subscription."  In 
1770,  Mrs.  Susanna  Wright  at  Colombia,  Lancaster 
county,  made  a  piece  of  mantua,  sixty  yards  in  length, 
from  her  own  cocoons,  afterwards  worn  as  a  court 
dress  by  the  queen  of  Great  Britain.  About  this  time, 
Grace  Fisher  made  some  considerable  quantity  of 
silk  stuffs.*  And  we  learn  that  many  ladies  before 
the  revolution  wore  silk  dresses  of  their  own  fabrica- 
tion.t 

The  editor  of  the  Genessee  Farmer  states,  that  "  a 
filature  was  established  in  Philadelphia  in  1770,  and 
premiums  announced;  and  that  in  the  following  year, 
2300  lbs.  of  silk  were  brought  there  to  reel."  The 
work  on  the  Growth  and  Manufacture  of  Silk,  pub- 
lished by  order  of  Congress,  in  1828,  says  that,  "  in 
the  year  1771,  the  cultivation  of  silk  began  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  Jersey,  and  continued  with  spirit 
for  several  years.  The  subject  had  been  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  as 
one  of  those  useful  designs  which  it  was  proper  for 
them  to  promote ;  but  they  were  induced  to  enter 
into  a  final  resolution  on  it  in  consequence  of  a  letter 
being  laid  before  them,  on  the  5th  January,  1770, 
from  Dr.  Franklin,  who  was  then  in  London  as  agent 
of  the  colony,  and  in  answer  to  one  which  had  been 
written  to  him  on  the  same  subject  by  the  late  Dr. 
Cadwallader  Evans,  In  this  letter  from  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, he  recommended  the  culture  of  silk  to  his  coun- 
trymen, and  advised  the  establishment  of  a  public 
filature  in  Philadelphia.  He  also  sent  to  the  Society 
a  copy  of  the  work  by  the  Abbe  Sauvage,  on  the 
Rearing  of  Silk  Worms.     A  committee  having  been 

•  Of  which,  a  piece  was  presented  by  Governor  Dickenson  to  the 
celebrated  Catharine  Macauley. 

+  At  a  large  meeting  of  silk  growers  held  at  the  Hall  of  the  Franklin 
Institute,  on  the  29th  of  January,  1839,  a  few  days  before  writing  this 
article.  Dr.  Mease  of  this  city  presented  several  specimens  of  silk  woven 
and  dyed  about  the  time  mentioned  above,  which  were  truly  creditable, 
and  which  the  venerable  speaker  facetiously  remarked,  though  not  as 
splendid  as  much  of  that  manufactured  in  these  days,  would  still,  not- 
withstanding, "  make  a  very  fine  show  in  a  country  church." 


HISTORY    OP    SILK.  115 

appointed  by  tlic  Society  to  frame  a  plan  for  pro- 
moting the  cultnre,  and  to  prepare  an  address  to  the 
legislature,  praying  for  pubUc  encooragement,  they 
proposed  to  raise  a  fund  by  subscription,  for  the  pur- 
chase of  cocoons,  to  establish  a  filature,  and  to  offer 
for  public  sale,  all  the  silk  purchased  and  wound  olf 
at  the  establishment ;  the  produce  thereof  to  be  duly 
accounted  for,  and  to  remain  in  the  stock  for  carrying 
on  the  design.  A  subscription  among  the  citizens  | 
was  immediately  set  on  foot,  and  the  sum  of  ^875, 145. 
obtained  the  first  year;"  "£900  (or  '^2400,)"  says 
M.  d'Homergue.*  The  worms  were  fed  on  the  na- 
tive mulberry  until  the  white  mulberry  could  be 
reared,  and  it  is  remarked  that  they  thrived  well  and 
yielded  good  silk.  By  the  several  members  of  this 
association,  whilst  it  was  in  existence,  not  only  good 
silk  was  procured,  but,  as  we  are  told,  even  many 
garments  were  obtained.  But  soon  after,  war,  which 
often  is  another  word  for  destruciion  to  what  God 
hath  made,  or  confusion  where  order  should  exist, 
put  an  end  to  this  good  beginning,  and  even  buried 
tiie  whole,  however  high  the  promise,  in  oblivion. 

During  the  whole  of  the  most  discouraging  circum- 
stances, not  only  in  the  revolutionary  war,  but  through 
that  apathy  created  in  the  public  mind  by  any  dis- 
turbance in  commercial  connexions,  this  noble  enter- 
prise seemed  rather  to  slumber  than  to  die,  and  all 
the  energies  of  its  spirit  are  yet  alive  waiting  for  its 
resurrection.  One  of  the  early  discouragements  in 
the  production  of  silk,  was  the  want  of  a  market  either 


*  M.  d'Homergue,  is  a  competent  witness,  since  he  was  in  the  whole 
of  this  part  of  the  history,  relative  to  Pennsylvania,  highly  interested. 
He  also  adds,  "  I  have  been  told  that  a  Frenchman  skilled  in  the  art  of 
reeling  was  employed  in  the  establishment.  Who  he  was,  or  what  be- 
came of  him  afterwards,  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn.  I  have  not  hoard 
of  any  raw  silk  having  been  prepared  at  this  filature,  or  sold  out  of  it  : 
yet  I  have  been  told  that  a  lady  of  this  city,"  (Philadelphia,)  "had  a 
ncgli^^^ce  dress  manufactured  in  England  out  of  silk  of  her  own  raising. 
The  lady's  name  was  Roberdeau."  Query.  Was  this  the  lady  or  a 
relative  of  the  well  known  General  Roberdeau,  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
remarkable  for  his  unaccountable  feline  antipathy  ? 


116  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

for  the  sale  of  cocoons,  or  for  reeled  silk  ;  and  another 
has  been  the  too  prevalent  idea  of  supposed  difficulty 
in  the  filature.  These  obstructions  are  now  extinct. 
Ready  markets,  not  only  in  the  eastern  cities,  but 
almost  anywhere  are  established  and  on  the  increase 
through  the  Union.  And  the  simplicity  of  the  reel 
and  spinner  invented  by  Mr.  Gay,  has  reduced  the 
art  of  reeling  and  making  sewing  thread  to  the  level 
of  any  capacity. 

At  Economy,  Pennsylvania,  the  culture  in  all  its 
branches,  from  the  feeding  of  the  worm  to  the  manu- 
facture of  the  silk,  is  extensively  carried  on  by  Messrs. 
Rapp  and  his  industrious  coadjutors.  And  the  pro- 
duce of  that  laudable  establishment,  we  are  informed, 
has  received  the  approbation  of  cormoisseurs. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  a  crisis,  which  is  perhaps 
as  important  as  any  period  in  the  history  of  the  cul- 
ture of  silk  in  North  America,  and,  therefore,  cannot 
here,  withhold  from  our  readers,  all  the  information 
we  can  derive  relative  to  this  eventful  era ;  which  is 
succinctly  drawn  up  to  our  purpose  in  a  pamphlet,  or 
Report  on  the  Mulberry  and  Sugar  Beet,  published 
during  the  second  session  of  the  twenty-fifth  Con- 
gress ;*  in  which,  at  page  five,  we  read  as  follows  : 

"  There  were,  perhaps,  some  other  reasons  which 
induced  the  people  of  this  country  to  neglect  this  sub- 
ject (the  culture  of  silk)  for  so  long  a  period.  The 
white  Italian  mulberry,  till  within  a  few  years,  was 
the  only  variety  cultivated,  and  this  was  unfit  for  use 
for  several  years.  So  that  the  cultivator  was  com 
pelled  to  lose  the  use  of  his  capital  and  labour  for 
some  years,  before  he  had  any  prospect  of  remune- 
ration. Add  to  this,  the  extreme  difficulty,  which, 
till  very  recently,  attended  the  process  of  reeling,  and 
the  want  of  a  market  for  cocoons  or  raw  silk,  and  we 
have  causes  sufficient  to  satisfy  any  reasonable  mind, 
that  the  culture  of  silk  was  never  abandoned  in  this 
country  on  account  of  the  soil  or  climate.''^ 

*  Rep.  No.  815. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  117 

Now,  "  the  cultivation  of  the  white  mulberry  has 
been  substituted  by  the  rnorus  inulticaulis,  which 
may  be  stripped  of  its  foliage  the  same  year  that  it  is 
planted ;  and  the  dull,  tedious  process  of  reeling  by 
hand,  which  required  a  regular  apprenticeship  to 
learn,  and  years  to  acquire  any  facility,  has  given 
way  to  new  improvements  in  the  reel,  by  which  a 
person  (even  a  child)  may  learn  in  a  few  hours  to 
reel  with  ease  and  expedition.  Many  silk  weavers, 
also,  and  public  establishments  have  opened  a  good 
and  permanent  market  for  all  the  cocoons  and  raw 
silk  that  can  be  raised,  for  want  of  which  they  are 
yearly  under  the  necessity  of  importing  large  quan- 
tities to  keep  their  factories  in  operation." 

It  is  asserted  that  Mr.  N.  Aspinwall,  who  had  a 
plantation  of  mulberry  trees  on  Long  Island,  was  the 
means  of  introducing  the  white  mulberry  tree,  and 
the  eggs  of  the  silk  worm,  in  the  year  1760,  into  the 
town  of  Mansfield  in  Connecticut.  He  also  planted 
an  extensive  nursery  of  the  trees  in  New  Haven ; 
and  together  with  Dr.  Ezra  Styles  obtained  from  the 
state  legislature  a  bounty  of  ten  shillings  for  every 
hundred  trees  that  should,  in  three  years  from  the 
time  of  planting,  be  in  a  healthy  condition,  and  also 
of  three  pence  per  ounce  for  all  raw  silk  which  the 
owners  of  the  trees  had  produced  from  cocoons  of 
their  own  raising  within  the  state.  After  the  public 
encouragement  for  raising  trees  was  found  unneces- 
sary, a  small  bounty  on  raw  silk,  manufactured  within 
the  state,  was  continued  some  time  longer.  A  statute 
yet  continues  in  force,  requiring  sewing  silk  to  consist 
of  twenty  threads,  each  two  yards  long.* 

Dr.  Lardner  bestows  the  highest  eulogium  on  the 
Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts,  and  particu- 
larly for  their  patriotic  endeavours  to  promote  every 
thing,  at  home  or  abroad,  connected  with  the  produc- 
tion or  manufacture  of  silk.     In  this  sentiment,  the 


*  Report  published  by  order  of  Congress  in  1828. — Roberts'  Manual 
and  Silk  Grower. 


118  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

work  published  by  order  of  Congress  in  1828,  con- 
curs, in  the  following  language.  "  It  would  be  an 
act  of  injustice  to  omit  noticing  the  generous  encou- 
ragement to  the  cultivation  of  silk  in  the  American 
colonies,  which  was  given  by  the  patriotic  Society  in 
London,  for  '  the  Promotion  of  Arts,'  "  &c.  From 
the  year  1755  to  1772,  several  hundred  pounds  ster- 
ling were  paid  to  various  persons  in  Georgia,  South 
Carolina,  and  Connecticut,  in  consequence  of  pre- 
miums offered  by  the  society,  for  planting  mulberry 
trees,  for  cocoons,  and  for  raw  silk,* 

It  may  be  remembered  that  Count  de  Hazzi  divided 
the  whole  of  the  history  of  silk  culture  in  Germany, 
into  three  periods ;  the  two  former  of  which  he  calls 
the  "unlucky."  And  it  is  too  evident  almost  to 
escape  observation,  that  the  same  culture  in  North 
America  is  as  clearly  divisible  into  three  periods;  but 
we  have  no  warrant  to  pronounce  the  two  former 
unlucky.  On  the  contrary  they  were  successful,  but 
not  to  that  degree  they  would  have  been  had  impe- 
diments already  specified  not  existed.  The  first 
period  may  be  said  to  have  continued  from  the  first 
introduction  of  the  silk  culture  in  North  America, 
in  1623  to  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  in 
1783,  or  for  160  years.  The  second  epoch,  ^^c.  from 
that  event  to  the  time  when  there  ivas  in  this  coun- 
try public  evidence  of  OiGciswe.  knowledge  of  the  cha- 
racter of  the  multicau lis  mulberry  ;  or  to  July  1830. 
The  second  epoch  then  in  the  history  of  the  Jime- 
rican  silk  culture,  comm-enced  in  1783.  Notwith- 
standing the  desolation  generally  introduced  by  war, 
which  when  internal  has  too  frequently  a  continued 
and  universal  effect,  the  silk  enterprise  was,  though 
somewhat  gradually,  renewed.  It  was  precisely  at 
this  period,  1783,  that  the  legislature  of  Connecticut, 
induced  by  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Aspinwall  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Styles,  granted  a  bounty  on  mulberry  trees 


*  Bayley's  Advancement  of  the  Arts,  London,  1772.     Bessie's  Me- 
moirs of  Agriculture,  vol.  iii. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  119 

and  raw  silk.  In  17S9,  200  lbs.  of  raw  silk  were 
made,  in  Mansfield,  which,  in  1793,  produced  3fj5  lbs. 
of  raw  silk.  In  1810,  the  sewing  and  raw  silk  of 
New  London,  Windham,  and  Tolland,  were  valued 
by  the  United  States  marshal  at  ^28,503,  exclusive 
of  the  amount  of  domestic  fabrics ;  and  double  this 
entire  amount  is  said  to  have  been  manufactured 
there  in  1825.  So  popular,  indeed,  had  silk  products 
become  about  this  period,  that  they  were  readily  taken 
and  paid  there,  as  a  circulating  medium. 

We  are  informed,  that  Samuel  Chidsey  of  Cayuga 
county,  New  York,  during  the  late  war  with  JGng- 
land,  sold  sewing  silk  to  the  amount  of  ^600  a  year. 
The  cultivation  of  silk  commenced,  in  the  same  era, 
in  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky;  and  also  by  cer- 
tain French  settlers  in  the  country,  now  the  state,  of 
Illinois. 

An  important  era  to  North  America,  was  now 
about  to  dawn,  and  a  spirit  of  universal  inquiry 
seemed  to  be  excited.  The  several  impediments  to 
the  successful  culture  of  silk,  whatever  they  were, 
that  had  aforetime  somewhat  fettered  this  noble  en- 
terprise, were  giving  way  in  succession,  and  daylight 
appeared  to  break  out  on  the  American  people  before 
they  were  actually  aware  of  it;  and  were  we  allowed 
to  indulge  in  the  figure,  we  should  say,  that  this  twi- 
light, or  crepuscular  period  commenced  in  the  year 
1825.  We  now  see  that  not  only  individuals,  farmers, 
and  planters,  but  also  legislators,  have  risen  from  a 
comparative  lethargy.  Not  only  private,  but  national 
interest,  is  on  the  tapis.  Neither  can  any  sceptic,  any 
cool  calculator  ox  frigid  political  economist,  negative 
the  question,  may  not  the  United  States  become 
equal  in  wealth  and  independence,  and  infinitely  su- 
perior in  intelligence,  to  the  China  of  4000  years  ? 
The  climate,  the  soil,  the  cocoons,  the  filature  art,  the 
throwsting,  the  tout  ensemble,  are  now  reached  out 
to  Colombia,  and  strange  would  it  be,  if  she  find  not 
the  hand  to  grasp  the  boon  that  soon  shall  envy  not 
the  mines  of  Mexico,  but  prove  that  silk  is  the  first, 


120  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

and  cotton  only  the  second  staple  of  North  America, 
An  interest,  therefore,  that  not  only  points  to  every 
individual  pocket,  but  vast  enough  to  look  a  whole 
nation  in  the  face  at  once,  is  now  before  us. 

We  have  said  that  the  day  dawned,  and  even  le- 
gislators were  risen,  and  on  their  feet  in  1825,  Mr, 
Miner,  of  Pennsylvania,  inquires  in  the  house  of  re- 
presentatives on  the  29th  of  December,  "if  the  culti- 
vation of  the  mulberry,  and  the  breeding  of  silk 
worms,  were  a  subject  worthy  of  legislative  attention." 
In  1S26,  Mr,  Van  Rensselaer  made  a  report,  whicli 
led  to  the  resolution  that  the  secretary  of  the  trea- 
sury should  cause  to  be  prepared  a  Manual  on  the 
Growth  and  Manufacture  of  Silk.  In  1828  when 
Mr,  Rush  presented  his  Manual,  Dr.  Mease  trans- 
mitted to  the  speaker  the  Treatise  of  Count  de  Hazzi. 
These  were  followed  by  a  report  presented  to  the 
house  by  Mr.  Spencer,  in  1830,  embracing  two  inte- 
resting letters  from  Peter  S.  Duponceau,  Esq.,  of  Phi- 
ladelphia, and  Essays  on  American  Silk,  by  M  d'Ho- 
mergue.  These  documents  comprise  the  most  valuable 
instructions  on  the  subject  of  the  silk  culture.  The 
report  proposed  to  grant  to  M.  d'Horaergue  the  sum 
of  ^40,000  for  the  establishment  of  a  normal  school 
of  filature  in  Philadelphia  for  the  gratuitous  instruc- 
tion of  sixty  young  men  for  two  years  in  the  various 
branches  of  reeling,  manufacturing,  and  dyeing  silk. 
This  bill,  though  favourably  received,  was  not, 
through  various  causes,  acted  on  at  that  session.  In 
1832  the  bill  was  brought  under  legislative  conside- 
ration, and  for  reasons  best  explained  in  Mr.  Diipon- 
ceaii's  History  of  the  Silk  Bill,  defeated  by  a  small 
majority,  "  Thus  perished,"  says  Mr,  Randolph, 
"the  first  important  measure,  proposed  by  the  na- 
tion, to  promote  the  production  of  silk  in  this  coun- 
try; a  measure  which  the  committee  (on  agriculture*) 
believe,  with  the  lights  then  in  existence,  was  wise, 
prudent,  and  important;  but  which  the  subsequent 

*  Twenty-fifth  Congress,  second  session. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  "  121 

ingenuity  and  experience  of  our  countrymen  now 
render  unnecessary ;  believing,  as  tliey  do,  that  the 
recent  improvements  in  reeling  will  do  more  in  a  few 
weeks,  than  the  establishment  of  many  normal  schools 
on  the  old  plan  would  do  in  many  years." 

The  third  epoch  in  the  history  of  silk  in  the 
United  States  may  be  dated  tiot  from  the  time  when 
the  first  multicaulis  tree  existed  in  this  Union,  which 
was  in  1S26,*  but  from  the  moment  when  there  was,  in 
this  country, /;?;6//c  evidence  of  any  (/ec/^/i'e  knowledge 
of  its  character:  and  this  was  the  case  in  July,  IS 30. 
According  to  the  accounts  before  us,  the  well  known 
and  justly  celebrated  Mr.  Gideon  B.  Smith  of  Balti- 
more possessed  the  firstt  tree  of  this  kind  in  North 
America ;  but  does  not  appear,  from  the  treatise  he 
published  in  1S30,  to  have  then  had  sufficient  ac- 
quaintance with  its  peculiarities,  to  warrant  him  in 
recommending  it  as  a  valid  substitute  for  its  popular 
predecessor,  the  Italian  mulberry.  But  Dr.  Felix 
Pascalis,  of  New  York,  having,  in  the  preceding 
INIarch,  imported  two  multicaulis  plants,  comes  for- 
ward, in  July,  1830,  with  a  decision  at  once  so  clear, 
that  it  has  since  gone  by  the  name  of  Dr.  Pascalis' 
prediction.  In  an  article  in  the  Journal  of  Sciences 
for  July,  1830,  after  informing  us  that  he  had  received 
two  trees  of  this  mulberry  from  France,  adds,  ^^t,Sfter 
the  discovery  of  this  plant,  a  doubt  no  longer  exists, 
that  two  crops  of  silk  may  be  raised  in  a  sitigle 
season."  A  prediction  almost  immediately  after  veri- 
fied, in  the  summer  of  1832,  in  Madame  Parmentier's 
Horticultural  establishment  on  Long  Island. 

After  this  period,  we  have  ample  testimony  that  the 
general  impetus  existing  in  the  public  mind,  was  on  the 
onward  march,  and  though  at  first  with  a  pace  compa- 

•  Tbe  difference  of  one  or  even  of  two  years  will,  perhaps,  be  con- 
tested, by  some  in  tbe  state  of  New  York,  or  elsewhere ;  but  this  point 
is  not  important,  since  it  is  not  from  the  possession,  but  from  the  public 
evidence  of  any  decisive  knowledge  of  its  character,  that  we  date  the 
epoch  in  question. 

t  See  Silk  Grower,  vol.  i.  p.  147. 
11 


122  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

ratively  slow  and  cautious,  yet  steadily  advancing  with 
an  increasing  rapidity  such  that  it  was  evident  that 
it  would  soon  have  to  dispute  with  every  other  staple 
within  the  limits  of  the  Union.  Excitement,  whatever 
it  be,  is  always  prolific:  a  month  elfects  more  than  a 
year:  it  is  an  age,  and  that  the  age  of  invention.  Dif- 
ficulties, though  mountains  before,  vanish,  and  the  toil 
of  a  man  becomes  the  sport  of  a  child.  New  reels  and 
improved  systems  of  reeling  appear  by  the  dozen,  the 
facilities  of  filatures  are  already  in  the  rear,  and  mar- 
kets for  cocoons  and  silk  in  any  shape,  are  on  the 
right  and  left — the  winter  is  past — the  difficulties  are 
gone ;  and  all  we  have  to  do,  is  to  go  up  at  once, 
since  we  are  able,  and  possess  the  goodly  land. 
"  Possiait,  quia  posse  videnhir.'^  When  Providence 
does  any  thing  for  man,  his  business  is  to  co-operate. 
It  has  done  much  for  us;  has  given  soils  and  climates 
positively  omniferous;  China  herself  boasts  of  nothing 
superior:  we  cannot  do  wrong  in  stepping  on  the 
traces  of  4000  years. 

In  pursuing  the  subsequent  history  of  this  import- 
ant, but  yet  comparatively  prospective  branch  of 
agriculture,  we  cannot  do  better  than  refer  to  the 
letter  of  Mr.  Andrew  Judson  of  Connecticut,  late  a 
member  of  Congress,  to  the  Hon.  J.  Q.  Adams,  and 
furnished  by  the  latter,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  manufactures,  to  the  congressional  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, on  February  25,  1837.  We  find  that  it 
covers  a  large  surface,  however  paradoxical,  in  a  lit- 
tle compass. 

In  an  early  part  of  this  letter  Mr.  Judson  confers  a 
very  flattering  compliment  on  the  Hartford  County 
Silk  Society,  to  whose  patriotic  efforts  in  dissemi- 
nating a  knowledge  of  the  silk  culture,  by  the  publi- 
cation of  the  well  known  periodical,  the  Silk  Cultur- 
ist,  under  the  editorial  charge  of  their  secretary, 
Judge  Comstock,  and  by  other  means,  he  attributes 
"the  present  state  (January,  1837)  of  these  branches 
of  American  industry,  and  the  interest  which  is  so 
extensively  felt  in  relation  to  them."     We  are  our- 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  123 

selves,  in  short,  so  sensible  of  the  benefit  derived  from 
this  source,  a  sentiment  we  are  assured  that  we  main- 
tain in  common  with  many,  that  it  is  but  ajiist*  re- 
turn to  inscribe  this,  since  we  cannot  on  the  marble 
bust,  as  a  record  on  the  page  of  history. 

So  far  as  experiments  are  the  cost  of  time,  and 
issue  in  results  profitable  and  available  to  the  com- 
munity, their  verdict  is  the  matter  of  history;  we, 
therefore,  hesitate  not  to  make  here  such  extracts  from 
ihis  interesting  letter  as  have  a  direct  reference  to  the 
public  interest.  "  Experiments  have  been  made  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  and  their  success  has  esta- 
blished the  fact,  that  the  mulberry  luill  grow,  and 
the  silk  worm  thrive,  throughout  the  whole  length 
and  breadth  of  the  United  States.  It  was  formerly 
doubted  whether  the  morus  multicaulis  could  be  ac- 
climated in  the  northern  and  middle  states ;  but  late 
experiments  have  satisfactorily  proved  that,  by  cut- 
ting down  the  shoots  in  autumn,  the  roots  will  endure 
the  coldest  winters,  send  up  a  new  growth  of  shoots 
in  the  spring,  and  produce  an  abundant  crop  of  foli- 
age. This  appears  to  be  the  method  successively 
pursued  by  the  silk  growers  in  India  ;  and  with  the 
same  treatment  in  this  country,  there  is  no  doubt  of 
its  acclimation.  The  facility  with  which  it  is  culti- 
vated and  multiplied  to  an  indefinite  extent,  affords 
a  full  guaranty  against  those  failures  and  inter- 
ruptions in  the  business  to  which  it  has  heretofore 
been  subjected.  It  has  been  ascertained  by  experi- 
ment, that  the  foliage  which  may  be  gathered  from 
annual  shoots  on  an  acre  of  land  will  furnish  food 
enough  to  sustain  a  family  of  worms  sufficiently 
numerous  to  make  128  pounds  of  silk,  worth,  at 
present  prices,  S640." 

The  importance  of  the  remarks  in  the  following 
extracts  will  be  readily  perceived.  "  The  process  of 
reeling,  also,  which  was  formerly  supposed  to  be  of 

*  The  merely  nominal  price  at  which  the  Silk  Culturist  was  pub- 
lished, together  with  the  gratuitous  distribution  of  mulberry  seed  and 
Bilk  worm  eggs,  argued  loss  rather  than  profit  to  the  company. 


124  -  HISTORT    OF    SILK. 

difficult  performance,  has  been  so  familiarized,  that 
children  perform  it  with  skill  and  dexterity.  The 
gathering  of  the  foliage,  and  the  feeding  of  the  worms 
may  be  effected  by  the  children,  and  such  other 
members  of  the  family  as  are  incapable  of  more  ardu- 
ous labour;  one  aged  person  being  always  in  the 
direction  of  the  business  as  a  responsible  head  ;  and 
who,  if  not  thus  employed,  would  spend  their  time  in 
idleness  ;  or,  what  is  worse,  in  mischief.  If  jjrodiict- 
ive  labour  is  a  source  of  ivealth,  both  to  nations 
and  ifidividuals,  it  is  desirable  that  it  should  be 
increased  to  its  greatest  possible  extent.  This  can 
only  be  done  by  seeking  out  objects  to  ivhich  the  la- 
hour  of  the  young,  old,  and  infirm  is  adapted ;  and 
among  these,  there  is  none  more  appropriate  than 
the  culture  of  silk.  The  same  remarks  are  sub- 
stantially true  ivith  respect  to  its  manufacture.  It 
has  also  been  erroneously  supposed,  that  the  manu- 
factnre  of  silk  was  attended  with  extraordinary  diffi- 
culties ;  that  it  required  much  complex  and  expensive 
machinery,  and  a  skill  which  Americans  were  incapa- 
ble of  acquiring;  but  it  has  been  foimd  to  be  as  simple 
as  that  of  cotton  or  wool,  and  requiring  a  far  less  ex- 
penditure in  buildings,  machinery,  and  fixtures.  The 
weaving  of  silk  fabrics  on  power  looms  has  been  at- 
tempted, and  the  success  that  has  resulted  from  the 
experiment,  is  of  the  most  flattering  character.  Fa- 
brics for  gentlemen's  wear,  cravats,  &c.  have  been 
woven  on  power  looms,  which,  for  beauty  of  texture, 
fall  but  little,  if  any,  below  those  of  foreign  manufac- 
ture. In  this  respect  we  are  already  in  advance  of 
the  silk  manufacturers  of  Europe  and  India ;  and  it  is 
believed  that  the  advantage  the  American  manufac- 
turer will  derive  from  the  aid  of  labour-saving  ma- 
chines, will  more  than  counterbalance  that  which  the 
foreign  manufacturer  can  derive  from  the  reduced 
price  of  labour  in  countries  of  a  more  dense  popula- 
tion. Hence  we  are  confident  that  this  country  can 
successfully  compete  with  others  both  in  the  culture 
and  manufacture  of  silk." 


HISTOKT    OF   SILK.  125 

"The  importance  of  introducing  this  species  of 
manufacture  may  be  estimated  by  the  fact,  that  the 
importations  of  manufactured  silks,  during  the  year 
ending  the  29th  of  September  last,  amounted  to 
^17,497,600,  being  nearly  a  million  more  than  the 
previous  year.  Most  of  this  vast  amount  is  consumed 
in  this  country,  which  is  an  enormous  tax  on  the 
consumers.  It  is  also  to  them  and  the  country  a  total 
loss ;  for  it  is  believed  that  we  have  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  labourers  to  produce  and  manufacture  the 
whole  amount,  who  are  unproductively  or  unprofit- 
ably  employed.  If  this  be  so,  it  follows  as  a  necessary 
consequence,  that  we  sustain  an  annual  loss  of 
DOUBLE  that  amount  in  our  unemployed  and  misap- 
j)lied  labour.  This  amount  will  also  be  astonishhigly 
increased,  if  we  add  to  it  all  the  evils  of  crime  and 
pauperism,  which  are  the  legitimate  and  unavoidable 
consequences  of  idleness  and  miproductive  labour. 
The  importance,  therefore,  of  the  culture  and  ma- 
nufacture of  silk,  both  in  a  pecuniary  and  moral 
point  of  vieio,  is  immense. 

"  The  importance  of  this  branch  of  rural  economy 
is  also  much  increased,  by  the  facilities  it  atfords  to 
all  to  attain  competence  and  wealth.  There  is  pro- 
bably no  other  business  in  which  the  same  amount 
of  capital  will  yield  an  equal  amount  of  income. 
There  can  be  no  better  investment.  The  small 
amount  too,  necessary  to  a  commencement  of  the 
business,  is  also  an  encouragement  which  no  other 
holds  out  to  the  enterprising.  A  few  acres  of  land 
of  ordinary  fertility,  and  a  few  dollars  in  m,oney 
for  the  purchase  of  seeds  and  plants,  will  enable  a 
silk  grower  to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  plantation 
on  a  considerable  scale.  Another  facility  peculiar  to 
the  business  is  the  ease  with  which  operations  are 
extended,  without  a  corresponding  extension  of  capi- 
tal. The  ratio  in  which  the  morus  multicaulis  may 
be  multiplied,  by  means  of  cuttings  and  layers,  is 
astonishing.  Experiments  have  proved  that,  with  a 
little  labour  and  attention,  they  may  be  more  than 
11* 


126  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

QUADRUPLED  cvery  year.  This  will  enable  the  far- 
mer in  moderate  circumstances  to  compete  with  tlie 
capitalist,  and  prevent  monopolists  from  engrossing 
the  whole  of  the  business  and  its  profits.  To  the  in- 
dividual of  limited  means,  having  a  large  family  of 
children,  the  culture  of  silk  holds  out  encouragement 
of  extraordinary  promise ;  while,  at  the  same  time, 
it  affords  ample  opportunity  for  the  capitalist  or  the 
incorporated  company  to  make  large  investments 
with  the  moral  certainty  of  success. 

"The  culture  and  manufacture  of  silk  must  also, 
for  a  long  time,  be  free  from  the  depression  and  em- 
barrassments which,  at  times,  are  thrown  on  other 
species  of  manufacture  by  enterprise  and  competition. 
Before  the  present  prices  can  be  materiallxj  reduced^ 
an  amount  of  doinestic  silk  equal  to  the  large 
amount  annually  imported  must  be  produced ;  and 
this  cannot  be  expected,  whilst  enterprise  and  labour 
have  so  many  objects  on  which  to  expend  themselves, 
as  the  various  sections,  climates,  interests,  and  pur- 
suits of  this  extensive  country  present.  The  disposi- 
tion also  which  has  existed  for  the  last  twenty  or 
thirty  years,  between  the  increase  in  the  consumption 
of  silk  and  the  increase  of  population,  ivill  it  is  be- 
lieved, prevent  the  r/imcrican  silk  growers,  with  all 
the  aid  and  encouragement  which  may  be  extended 
to  them  by  the  national  and  state  legislatures,  from 
producing  the  raw  material  in  sufficient  quanti- 
ties to  satisfy  the  demand,  for  at  least  another  cen- 
tury.^^ 

The  above  convictions  so  ably  expressed  by  Mr. 
Judson,  and  so  directly  relevant  to  our  interests,  and 
admirably  calculated  to  remove  every  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  the  most  uninformed  or  sceptical,  are  the  re- 
sults of  experimental  history.  History,  in  short,  is 
nothing  without  its  moral  development ;  and  viewed 
in  this  light,  the  preceding  extracts  cannot  be  consi- 
dered as  a  digression  from  the  subject  of  this  section. 
The  detail  of  facts,  however,  Mr.  Judson  prefaces,  by 
informing  us,  that  in  the  month  of  the  preceding  Sep- 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  127 

tember,  he  had  caused  a  circular  to  be  prepared,  pro- 
pounding twenty-six  interrogatories  to  siliv  growers, 
manufacturers,  and  other  gentlemen  interested  in  the 
subject ;  and  that  several  hundreds  were  circulated. 
'•  The  facts,  however,  collected,  are  of  the  most  flat- 
tering character.  From  the  answers  to  the  interro- 
gatories, the  communications  of  gentlemen  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  and  sUch  other  means  of  infor- 
mation as  I  have  been  favoured  with,  I  am  enabled 
to  give  the  following  exhibition  of  the  progress  and 
prospect  of  both  branches  of  the  business.  The 
statements  being  made  from  correct  data,  may  be 
relied  on,  as  approximating  to  accuracy,  so  far  as 
they  go ;  but  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  view 
is  imperfect,  as  the  business  has  probably  been  com- 
menced in  many  parts  of  the  country,  from  which  no 
information  has  been  received." 

Indeed  so  wide  is  this  country  that  in  it  millions 
may  exist,  or  live  and  die,  unknown  to  others ;  and 
much  more  their  avocations,  designs,  or  prospects. 
The  precise  outline,  therefore,  of  the  American  history, 
as  it  relates  to  silk  or  any  other  object,  cannot  be  fully 
caught,  at  any  given  moment.  The  historian  often 
has  to  wait  till  time's  pendulum  measures  his  event- 
ful revolutions  by  deeds,  and  until  their  report  has 
had  weeks,  months,  and  even  years,  to  travel  to  his 
eye  or  ear,  and  announce  such  prospects  as  their  re- 
lative circumstances  may  warrant  in  his  estimation. 
Under  this  view  of  the  case  we  may  be  allowed  to 
close  our  history  of  the  silk  culture  and  manufacture 
in  America,  with  such  extracts  from  jMr.  Judson's 
authentic  testimony  as  refer  to  the  different  sections 
of  this  Union. 

"the    six    NEW   ENGLAND    STATES 

"  Are  more  or  less  engaged  in  the  culture  and  manu- 
facture of  silk;  and  four  of  them  are  encouraging  the 
business  by  legislative  bounties.  In  Maine,  a  bounty 
of  five  cents  on  every  pound  of  cocoons  grown, 


128  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 

and  fifty  cents  on  every  pound  of  silk  reeled,  is  paid 
from  the  state  treasury.  The  experiments  which 
have  been  made  confirm  the  belief  that  the  climate  is 
no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  silk  grower.  In  New- 
port^ Fryebiirg,  Saco,  Hiram,  and  Limington, 
nurseries  have  been  planted,  and  are  said  to  be  in  a 
flourishing  condition.  Within  a  few  miles  of  the 
forty-fifth  degree  of  latitude,  the  young  plants  with- 
stood the  severity  of  last  winter.  A  gentleman  in 
Fryeburg  fed  last  season  5000  worms,  which  pro- 
duced the  usual  quantity  of  silk.  In  New  Hampshire 
the  business  has  been  begun,  and  is  prosecuted  with 
considerable  spirit,  though  no  public  encouragement 
is  given.  At  Concord  there  is  an  incorporated  com- 
pany, with  a  capital  of  ^75,000,  for  the  growth  and 
manufacture  of  silk.  The  company  has  purchased 
a  farm  of  250  acres,  and  is  stocking  it  with  both  kinds 
of  the  mulberry  as  fast  as  circumstances  will  permit. 
Individuals  also,  in  most  parts  of  the  state,  are  plant- 
ing the  mulberry  preparatory  to  feeding  the  worm. 
Experiments  have  also  been  made  in  South  Weare, 
Newport,  JDunharton,  Warner,  Hopkinton,  Keene, 
and  many  other  towns,  and  the  results  have  evinced, 
that  the  business  is  both  practicable  and  profitable. 

"  The  legislature  of  Vermont,  have  authorized  the 
state  treasurer  to  pay  a  bounty  of  ten  cents  on  every 
pound  of  cocoons  grown  within  the  state.  In  Burling- 
ton, Brattlehord' ,  Woodstock,  Middlelmry ,  Ben- 
nington, South  Hero,  Montpelicr,  Orivell,  Shore- 
ham,  Guilford,  Putney,  and  other  places  preparations 
are  making  on  a  large  scale.  The  legislation  of 
Massachusetts,  for  the  encouragement  of  the  growth 
of  silk,  is  of  the  most  liberal  character.  The  bounty 
on  all  silk  grown,  reeled,  and  throwsted,  in  the  com- 
monwealth is  two  dollars  a  pound ;  which  is  consi- 
dered by  silk  growers  to  be  sufficient  to  defray  all 
expenses  attending  its  growing,  reeling,  and  throws- 
ting.  There  are  several  incorporated  companies. 
Amongst  them  is  the  New  England  Silk  Company 
at  Dedham,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Cobb. 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  129 

This  company  has  a  capital  of  S50,000  with  liberty 
to  extend  it  to  §  100,000.  Mr.  Cobb  says,  "  we  have 
sixteen  sewing  silk  machines.  We  have  found  organ- 
zine  and  tram,  or  warp  and  filling,  to  be  in  greater 
demand  than  heretofore ;  but  in  consequence  of  the 
forty  per  cent,  protection  on  sewing  silk  held  out  by 
government,  we  have  been  building  a  large  mill,  and 
are  now  ready  to  manufacture  200  lbs.  per  week  of 
pewing  silk,  which,  at  present  prices,  will  bring  §2000. 
About  §10,000  worth  of  silk  goods,  part  with  a  mix- 
ture of  cotton,  have  been  manufactured  here  the  year 
past."  In  addition  to  this,  Mv.  Judson  notices  the 
Atlantic  Silk  Company,  at  Nantucket;  the  Northamp- 
ton, the  Massachusetts,  the  Boston,  the  Roxbury, 
and  the  Newburyport  Silk  Companies ;  all  with  ade- 
quate capitals,  and  "  promising  prospects." 

"  In  Rhode  Island  the  manufacture  of  silk  is 
commencing.  The  Rhode  Island  Silk  Company  has 
a  capital  of  Si 00,000.  The  factory  is  at  Providence, 
and  the  plantation  in  the  neighbourhood.  It  has  ma- 
nufactured some  very  beautiful  and  durable  articles. 

"  In  Connecticut  silk  has  been  grown  in  consi- 
derable quantities  for  fifty  or  sixty  years,  particularly 
in  the  counties  of  Windham  and.  Tolland.  The 
state  pays  a  bounty  of  one  dollar  on  every  hundred 
Italian  or  Chinese  mulberry  trees,  set  out  at  such  dis- 
tances from  each  other  as  will  best  favour  their  full 
growth  and  the  collection  of  their  leaves,  and  culti- 
vated until  they  are  five  years  old ;  also  a  bounty  of 
fifty  cents  on  every  pound  of  silk  reeled  on  an  im- 
proved reel.  There  are  two  incorporated  companies, 
the  Mansfield  and  the  Connecticut.  The  former  is 
located  at  Mansfield,  and  has  a  capital  of  §20,000 ; 
the  latter  at  Hartford,  with  a  capital  of  §30,000. 
There  is  also  a  silk  factory  at  Lisbon.  Individuals 
also,  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  are  engaging  in  the  cul- 
ture. There  are  likewise  extensive  nurseries  at 
Hartford,  Suffield,  Farmington,  Litchfield,  New 
London,  Stonington,  Durham,  New  Haven,  and 
many  other  towns." 


130  HISTORY    OF    SILK. 


MIDDLE    STATES. 


"The  subject  of  encouraging  the  culture  of  silk 
has  been  under  consideration  in  New  York,  and  it 
is  expected  will  be  given  at  the  present  session. 
Several  silk  companies  have  been  incorporated, 
among  which  are  the  Troy,  the  Poiighkeepsie,  the 
Neiu  York,  and  the  Jilhany  Silk  Grower's  Compa- 
nies. In  all  parts  of  the  state,  individuals  are  en- 
gaging with  spirit;  and  there  is  no  doubt  New  York 
will  become  a  great  silk  growing  district. 

"In  New  Jersey  several  companies  have  been 
incorporated,  among  which  are  the  New  Jersey  and 
the  Monmouth  Silk  Companies.  Several  others  are 
formed,  and  enterprising  individuals  are  engaging 
in  the  culture.  The  soil  and  climate  have  been  found 
well  adapted  to  the  business."  This  state  pays  a 
bounty  of  sixteen  cents  a  pound  for  cocoons,  and  fifty 
cents  a  pound  for  reeled  silk. 

"  A  number  of  companies  have  been  formed  in 
Pennsylvania,  under  a  general  law  of  the  state  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  culture  of  silk."  The 
Beaver,  Chester,  Philadelphia,  and  Economy  Silk 
Companies,  are  those  which  Mr.  Judson  notices  in 
1S37.  A  number  of  companies  have  sprung  up 
during  the  past  season  and  others  are  almost  daily 
coming  into  existence. 

"  In  Delaware  and  Maryland,  the  subject  is  at- 
tracting much  attention.  Several  companies  have 
been  formed,  and  individuals  are  commencing  plan- 
tations." The  Queen  Anne  County  and  Talbot  Silk 
Companies  are  mentioned. 

southern  states. 

"  In  the  Southern  States  much  interest  is  felt  in  the 
subject,  and  much  is  doing  to  introduce  it  to  the  at- 
tention of  planters.  In  Virginia,  they  are  proposing 
to  devote  their  worn-ouL  tobacco  lands  to  the  culture 
of  silk,  in  the  hope  of  checking  the  tide  of  emigration, 


HISTORY    OF    SILK.  131 

which  is  setting  west,  and  threatening  to  depopulate 
the  country.  There  are  several  silk  companies,  and 
many  individuals  are  making  experiments.  The  ac- 
counts I  have  received  from  North  Carolina  are 
of  the  most  cheering  character.  They  represent  the 
soil  and  climate  to  be  remarkably  favourable  to  the 
growth  of  the  tree  and  to  the  rearing  of  the  worm. . 
The  same  is  substantially  true  as  respects  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia.  Experiments  have  been 
made,  whose  results  have  satisfied  the  planters  that 
the  young,  aged,  and  infirm  portion  of  their  slaves 
can  be  profitably  employed  in  the  culture  of  silk :  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that  in  a  short  time  many  of  them 
will  make  a  silk  as  well  as  a  cotton  crop.  In  Florida 
and  Alabama  the  tree  grows  luxuriantly,  and  pro- 
duces an  abundance  of  foliage.  Experiments  in  rear- 
ing the  worm  have  also  been  attended  with  favour- 
able results ;  and  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  are 
convinced  that  silk  will  be  the  most  profitable  crop 
they  can  make.  At  Pensacola  and  Mobile  are  large 
numbers  of  mulberry  trees ;  and  arrangements  are 
making  to  commence  the  business.  The  black  mul- 
berry is  there  indigenous,  and  its  foliage  has  been 
found  to  make  as  good  silk  as  that  of  the  Chinese. 
It  is  also  supposed  that  the  sterile  lands  of  West  Flo- 
rida will  become  valuable  on  account  of  their  adapta- 
tion to  the  production  of  silk." 

WESTERN    states. 

The  soil  and  climate  of  the  Western  States,  has 
also  been  found  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  silk 
culture.  In  Ohio  there  are  a  number  of  companies 
incorporated  with  large  capitals,  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  skilful  managers.  In  the  vicinity  of  Cantoriy 
in  Stark  county,  seventy  families  are  engaged  in 
making  silk ;  and  in  Knox,  Cuyahoga,  Jefferson, 
Belmont.,  Washington,  Broxon,  Hamilton,  Mont- 
gomery, Highland,  and  several  other  counties,  many 
individuals  are  beginning.     The  subject  is  new  in 


132  HISTORY    OP    SILK. 

Kentucky,  but  as  is  evident  from  the  following  ex- 
tract of  a  letter,  is  attracting  attention,  "  The  first 
talk  of  silk  raising  in  this  country  was  about  a  year 
and  a  half  since,  when  a  friend  sent  rae  the  first  copy 
of  the  Silk  Culturist.  So  great  has  been  the  increase 
of  public  sentiment,  that  there  appear  but  few  of  the 
rich  farmers  who  are  not  contemplating  it  as  a  source 
of  employment  for  their  weak  force.  The  six  that 
are  now  making  experiments,  can  bring  into  the  field 
one  hundred  hands,  and  our  whole  energy  will  be 
turned  to  it.  In  Indiana  large  quantities  of  white 
mulberry  seed  have  been  sown,  and  a  spirit  of  in- 
quiry has  been  awakened.  The  business  cannot 
flourish  with  us  till  our  trees  have  grown,  though 
our  woods  abound  with  the  black  mulberry.  In  Il- 
linois, Missouri,  and  Tennessee,  small  beginnings 
have  been  made,  and  the  congeniality  of  the  soil  and 
climate  cannot,  ultimately,  fail  of  making  them  great 
silk  growing  states.  Could  a  general  diffusion  of 
practical  knowledge  on  the  subject  of  cultivating  the 
tree,  and  rearing  the  worm,  be  effected,  I  have  no 
doubt  the  United  States  would  become  one  of  the 
greatest  silk  growing  countries  in  the  world." 

Beyond  the  period  to  which  these  brief  extracts 
from  Mr.  Judson's  highly  credible  testimony  relative 
to  the  general  state  of  the  silk  culture  in  this  country 
refer,  it  is,  at  present,  unnecessary  to  pass ;  particu- 
larly as  the  progress  since,  has  been  so  rapid,  that  to 
delineate,  with  any  precision,  the  whole  at  any  exact 
moment,  over  so  wide  a  field  as  that  of  the  United 
States,  would  be  impossible,  unless  furnished  with 
facilities  similar  to  those  which  Mr.  Judson's  ofiicial 
commission  for  inquiry  commanded. 


PART  II. 

ON   THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


MULBERRY,    GENUS,    SPECIES. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  towards  either  the  pro- 
duction or  manufacture  of  silk,  is  a  provision  of  food 
for  the  thrifty  insect,  that  will  take  due  care  to  perform 
its  part,  if  only  we  are  equally  industrious  to  perform 
ours ;  and  its  only  proper  and  legitimate  aliment  is 
the  leaf  of  the  mulberry  tree. 

The  Moriis*  of  botanists,  a  genus!  of  the  tetran- 
DRiA  order, belonging  to  the  Monoecia  class  of  plants; 

•  Moms,  Lat.  a  mulberry  tree ;  said  by  some  to  be  derived  from  the 
Celtic  word  Mor,  black.  But  ,u:aov,  the  mulberry,  is  probably  from  the 
adjective  f/M^'^f:  insipid,  since  the  fruit  of  every  species,  except  the  red, 
is  comparatively  insipid. 

•j-  Order,  tetrandria.  Oalyx  four-parted,  divisions  oval  and  concave ; 
corolla  none ;  stamens  four,  situated  between  the  divisions  of  the  calyx  ; 
filaments  erect,  subulate,  longer  than  the  calyx,  and  supporting  the  an- 
thers. Female  flowers,  growing  sometimes  on  the  same  individual,  and 
sometimes  on  a  separate  plant,  have  a  calyx  with  four  leaves,  rounded, 
obtuse,  and  persistent ;  the  two  opposite  exterior  ones  approaching  each 
other :  corolla  none  ;  pistil  naked ;  germ,  heart  shaped,  surmounted  with 
two  oblong,  subulate,  rough,  strong  styles,  terminated  by  simple  stig- 
mas ;  no  pericarp ;  its  place  supplied  by  the  calyx,  which  is  converted 
into  a  fleshy  succulent  berry,  containing  one,  sometimes  two,  pointed 
oval  seeds,  of  which  one  is  usually  abortive ;  perisperm  whitish,  fleshy, 
of  the  same  form  as  the  seeds,  receiving  the  embryo  reversed,  bent  into 
hooks.  Cotyledons  oblong,  foliacious,  smooth,  narrow,  bent  over  one 
another.  The  upper  radicle  is  cylindrical.  Distinctive  character,  mo- 
noccial  flowers.  Calyx  four-parted,  corolla  none,  stamens  four,  styles  two, 
pericarp  none,  calyx  changed  into  a  flesh  berry.  The  female  flowers  are 
numerous,  collected  rather  loosely  in  a  common  receptacle.  Each  germ 
is  changed  into  a  succulent  berry.  These  three  particularly  refer  to  the 
mulberry,  white,  red,  or  black.   They  extend  their  roofs  deep,  large,  and 

12  133 


134  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

of  which  Linnaeus  mentions  seven  distinct  species, 
viz.  1.  Moms  nigra;  2.  Moms  rubra  ;  3.  Morus pa- 
pyrifcra ;  4.  Moms  tinctoria  ;  5,  Morus  indica  : 
6.  Moms  tartarica,  and  7.  Moms  alba ;  of  which 
we  shall  treat  in  due  order. 

The  above,  it  is  to  be  observed,  are  ranked  by 
Linnffius  as  species  ;  and  if  species,  they  are  each 
respectively  capable  of  reproduction  from  its  own 
seed. 

There  are  besides  varieties  of  each  species ;  or 
kinds  produced  by  two  or  more  species,  whose  pro- 
perties have  been  combined  by  proximate  influence 
or  artificial  culture,  as  ingrafting,  inoculating;  and 
even,  in  certain  cases,  other  varieties  obtained  by  a 
change  of  soil  or  climate  ;  most,  if  not  all  of  which, 
however,  are  Hybrids  ;  and  consequently,  incapable 
of  reproduction  from  seed. 

But  what  are  varieties  only,  and  what  hybrids^ 
have  not  as  yet  been  distinctly  stated,  either  by  the 
botanist  or  the  horticulturist ;  and,  therefore,  until 
experiments  of  a  satisfactory  character  are  made,  we 
shall  refer  both  the  latter  to  a  distinct  chapter. 

The  mulberry  tree  has  many  properties  such,  as  if 
it  had  been  endowed  by  nature  with  every  requisite 
to  render  its  cultivation,  wherever  that  be,  in  the 
hedge,  in  the  plantation,  in  the  cornfield,  or  as  an 
ornament  around  our  premises  and  dwellings,  an  ob- 
ject happily  combining  utility,  convenience,  and  plea- 
sure. Independently  of  the  primary  purpose  of  its 
culture,  the  production  of  an  agreeable  and  elegant 
article  of  clothing,  in  consequence  of  its  roots,  not 
obliquely  but  more  deeply  and  perpendicularly  striking 
into  the  earth,  it  leaves  the  surface  less  impoverished 
and  incommoded  than  it  is  by  many  trees.  The 
ground,  therefore,  between  mulberries,  or  their  rows, 
may,  in  many  cases,  be  successfully  occupied  with 

branching.  They  are  exceedingly  vivacious,  and  put  forth  rapidly. 
When  grafted  t key  die  after  twenty-five  years;  while  the  mulberries 
not  grafted  will  live,  sumetimes,  through  three  centuries.  There  arc 
mulberry  trees  in  England  and  France,  known  to  be  of  this  age. 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  135 

Other  products ;  particularly  since  neither  the  shade 
of  the  tree,  nor  the  dropping  of  rain  from  its  leaves, 
is  considered  prejudicial  to  plants  growing  beneath. 
It  is  also  a  matter  of  universal  observation  that  no 
insect,  except  the  silk  worm  will  feed  on  the  mulberry 
leaf.  The  experiment  was  purposely  tried  by  M. 
Pullein,  which  satisfactorily  demonstrated  that  the 
product  of  this  tree  is  the  exclusive  property  of  the 
silk  worm,  or  the  insect,  which  cipparentlii  works 
only  for  man.  "During  the  continued  observation 
of  three  years,  Miss  Rhodes  never  once  found  any 
other  insect  on  the  leaves  used  by  her.  Other  fruit 
trees  and  vegetables  in  the  same  garden  were  some- 
times covered  by  myriads,  while  the  mulberry  tree, 
surrounded  by  these  ravagers,  remained  sacred  from 
their  depredations."  Not  even  the  apliides  invade 
the  tree  so  exclusively  devoted  to  the  little  operative 
that  so  exclusively  devotes  itself  to  us. 

"All  the  ditferent  parts  of  the  mulberry,"  says 
Seignor  Tinelli,  "  are  useful  and  good  for  some  pur- 
pose or  other.  Its  leaves  form  the  only  food  that 
experience  has  found  to  be  appropriate  to  nourish  the 
silk  worm.  The  leaves  of  a  second  growth,  serve, 
at  the  close  of  autumn,  as  an  excellent  nourishment 
for  cattle  and  sheep.*  The  body  and  larger  limbs, 
may  also  be  converted  into  boards  of  a  beautiful  yel- 
lowish colour,t  and  finely  clouded,  for  the  use  of  the 
cabinetmaker ;  the  fibrous  epidermis  of  the  young 
branches,  that  are  often  cut,  either  for  the  purpose  of 
ingrafting  or  of  pruning,  and  directing  the  shape  of 
the  tree,  if  macerated  in  lime  and  water,  may  be  made 
into  paper,  that  is  exceedingly  delicate  and  shining, 
and  properly  called  silk  paper.  The  young  mul- 
berries take  the  most  beautiful  forms  that  it  is  possi- 
ble for  the  hand  of  man  to  give  them  ;  and  thus  this 

•  "  It  being  understood,  however,  that  the  second  gathering  ought 
•  not  to  be  made  till  the  vegetation  of  the  plant  has  entirely  ceased,  and 
the  sap  has  begun  to  descend  from  the  branches." 
t  "  Citron  colour,  more  or  less  deep." — Morui. 


136  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

plant  so  rich  in  its  produce,  furnishes  also  an  elegant 
ornament  in  parks  and  gardens,  and  in  the  avenues 
to  villas  and  country  houses."* 

Relative  to  what  mulberry  trees  are  distinct  species, 
and  what  only  varieties,  the  greatest  discrepancy  and 
want  of  distinctness,  as  already  observed,  are  found 
in  the  works  of  the  most  popular  writers  on  this  sub- 
ject. The  real  case,  no  doubt,  is  that  sufficient  trial 
has  not  yet  been  made  to  determine  which  of  the 
several  kinds  are  producible,  without  variation,  from 
their  own  seed,  and  therefore  distinct  species ;  and 
which  are  not,  and  consequently  hybrids,  or  the  mere 
creatures  of  local  and  accidental  circumstances,  or  to 
be  sustained  only  by  artificial  culture.  Until  this  in- 
teresting, as  well  as  important  point  is  satisfactorily 
ascertained,  we  prefer,  as  to  those  we  quote  as  spe- 
cies, to  abide  by  the  Linna3an  classification,  sanc- 
tioned by  Dr.  Lardner,  as  good  authority ;  though  at 
the  same  time,  we  doubt  not,  but  that  some  of  the 
kinds  not  yet  ranked  as  species,  will  eventually,  by 
further  experience,  be  proved  to  be  such. 

Species  I.  Morus  Nigra,  or  black  mulberry,  a  na- 
tive of  Asia  Minor.  The  leaves  are  large  and  rugged. 
Its  fruit  is  large,  black,  aromatic,  juicy,  subacid,  and 
good.  The  leaves  will  answer  for  the  food  of  silk 
worms ;  but  those  of  other  kinds  are  more  suitable. 
It  is  much  used,  however,  in  Persia,  where  good  silk 
is  produced :  the  European  red  mulberry  is  said  to 
be  a  variety  of  the  black,  and  is  used  in  Calabria,  and 
in  some  parts  of  Italy.t  It  rises  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty  feet. 

The  morus  nigra  never  has  been  extensively  used 
where  the  morus  alba  was  known.     "The  sewing 

*  See  "  Hints  on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Mulberry,"  dedicated  to  the 
American  Institute,  by  Seignor  Tinclli,  LL.D.,  or  Silk  Culturist,  torn, 
iii.  p.  3G  et  seq. 

f  See  Silk  Culturist,  vol.  ii.  p.  134,  col.  1  and  2 ;  also  p.  1.58,  col.  3, 
et  seq.  On  page  3  of  the  same  work,  we  read,  "The  black  mulberry 
grows  spontaneously  in  the  wilds  of  some  of  the  southern  and  western 
states.  The  worms  will  eat  the  leaves  and  thrive  upon  them,  hut  the 
silk  they  make  is  of  a  very  inferior  quality." 


THE  MULRERRV    TREE,  137 

silks  of  Naples  are  mostly  made  from  the  silk  grown 
in  Calabria,  where  the  worm  is  fed  principally  on  the 
black  mulberry,  and  which  m.akes  the  strongest  and 
best  of  sewing  silk.  Finizio*  stated  that  the  worm 
fed  on  the  black  mulberry  made  the  strongest  thread ; 
that  on  the  white  mulberry  finer  and  better  for  fa- 
brics."! The  relative  fineness  of  silk  produced  from 
the  black  and  white  mulberry  may  be  compared  to 
that  between  hemp  and  flax  in  linen. 

Species  II.  Morus  Rubra,  or  the  red  mulberry,  a 
native  of  America.  J  The  leaves  are  large,  cordate, 
often  palmated,  and  more  often  two  or  three  lobed, 
denticulated,  dark  green  above,  downy  beneath,  rug- 
ged. The  fruit  is  of  a  very  deep  red  or  black  colour, 
an  oblong  shape,  and  of  an  agreeable,  acidulous, 
sugary  taste.  It  is  composed  of  the  union  of  a  great 
number  of  small  berries,  each  of  which  contains  a 
minute  seed.  The  tree  often  exceeds  sixty  feet  in 
height,  and  two  feet  in  diameter.  The  wood  is  of  a 
yellowish  hue,  aproaching  to  lemon  colour,  fine 
grained  and  compact,  and  durable  as  the  white  locust. 
Several  varieties  of  this  tree  are  quoted,  viz. 

1.  Leaves  all  orbiculated  (round.) 

2.  Leaves  deeply  lobed. 

3.  Leaves  with  three  short  lobes. 

4.  Fruit  berries  nearly  white. 

5.  Fruit  berries  bluish  purple. 

6.  Fruit  berries  red  and  long. 

7.  Fruit  berries  blackish  red. 

Though  the  red  mulberry  is  said  to  be  peculiar  to 


*  An  extensive  manufacturer  of  sewing  silks  at  Naples.  He  makes 
about  3000  lb.  a  week,  mnstli/fitr  the  New  York  market .' 

■j-  Silk  Cul.  from  letter  of  General  Tallmadge,  p.  13.3,  col.  3. 

%  "  Michaux  assigns  the  same  limits  north  to  it  as  to  the  majestic 
and  beautiful  tulip  tree,  (lirisdendron  tulipifera.)  viz.  the  northern  ex- 
tremity of  Lake  Champlain ;  but  it  also  grows  in  Massachusetts. 
Southward  and  westward  it  abounds  in  all  the  states,  and  has  recently 
been  found  as  far  west  as  the  lower  part  of  the  river  Canadian,  by 
Dr.  James,  U.  S.  Army." — Annals  of  the  Lycemn,  New  York,  vol.  11. 
p.  246. 

12  * 


138  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

America,  yet  in  the  Silk  Guitarist,  p.  134,'*  we  read 
as  follows.  "  The  red  mulberry  is  here,  (south  of 
Italy,)  principally  used,  and  is  known  as  the  Calabria 
mulberry.  It  is  described  as  having  a  dark  fruit ;  the 
tree  is  like  our  black,  and  when  I  called  it  the  black 
mulberry,  I  was  corrected,  and  told  that  the  stain 
of  the  fruit  ivas  red,  which  gave  the  character  of  the 
tree." 

The  experience  of  more  than  a  century  has  esta- 
blished the  fact,  that  the  leaves  of  the  red  mulberry 
agree  perfectly  well  with  silk  worms,  and  yield  very 
good  silk ;  it  is,  therefore,  somewhat  singular  that  M. 
Deslongchmaps  should  assert  that  the  leaves  do  not 
suit  the  constitvtion  of  French  worms  I  Yet  Ma- 
dame Humbertt  in  Louisiana,  and  Mr.  Seth  Milling- 
tonj  of  Missouri  affirm  that  the  insects  evinced  no 
preference  between  the  leaves  of  the  white  and  red 
species,  but  that  the  silks  produced  from  both  "  were 
stronger  and  finer  than  that  of  France."  Preference 
is,  notwithstanding,  generally  given  to  the  leaves  of 
the  white  mulberry.§  Much  evidence,  the  detail  of 
which  is  too  long  for  our  limits,  in  favour  of  the 
American  red  mulberry,  is  given  in  the  Silk  Ciilturist, 
vol.  ii.  p.  172,  col.  3,  and  p.  173. 

Mr.  S.  R.  Jones||  affirms  that  in  its  native  state,  it 
yields  a  large  quantity  of  leaves  of  a  bright  glossy 
green,  and  smooth  texture,  many  of  which  by  actual 
trial,  measure  twelve  inches  in  length  and  nine  in 
breadth,  and  weigh  a  quarter  of  a  pound  avoirdupois 
a  piece.  Should  this  species  of  mulberry  prove  to  be 
valuable,  it  will  be  a  source  of  almost  incalculable 
profit  to  the  families  of  the  south  west.  Already  ac- 
climated no  danger  need  to  be  apprehended  from  the 


*  Letter  from  General  Tallmadgc. 
■|-  Du  Pratt's  Hist,  of  Louisiana,  p.  187. 

\  Answer  to  the  silk  circular  sent  by  secretary  of  the  treasury,  1827. 
§  But  see  a  somewhat  spirited  article  in  the  Silk  Culturist,  vol.  ii. 
,  i58,  col.  3  tt  seij.  from  the  Mechanic's  Messenger. 
II  lb.  vol.  iii.,  p.  34,  col.  1,  et  scq. 


THE  MULCKRRY  TREE.  139 

severity  of  our  winters.  Another  species  of  mulberry 
which  I  have  discovered,  yields  a  beautiful  leaf,  ele- 
ven inches  long,  but  which  weighs  only  half  as  much 
as  the  rubra.  It  is  a  very  fine  and  brilliant  leaf  with 
a  lobe  or  ear  on  each  side,  about  midway  between  its 
widest  place,  and  its  point,  which  gives  it  a  peculiar 
appearance.  The  worm  is  voraciously  fond  of  it,  I 
think  it  to  be  a  valuable  kind  especially  for  second 
crops."* 

Species  III.  Broussonetia  PAPVRiFERA.t  or  Ja- 
pan  paper  mulberry.  The  leaves  are  rough,  either 
cordate,  entire  or  lobed.  The  tree  is  of  rapid  growth 
and  rises  to  a  large  size,  with  a  round  head.  It  is  a 
native  of  China  and  Japan.  From  the  inner  bark  of 
its  branches,  the  Japanese  make  their  paper  ;  and  also 
certain  articles  of  clothing.  Its  leaves  are  also  used 
as  food  for  the  silk  worm,  for  which  purpose  the  tree 
is  now  successfully  cultivated  in  France.! 

•  "  From  the  character  of  the  leaves  and  fruit  of  a  native  mulberry  tree 
growing  in  Washita,*  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  a  different 
species  from  the  mortis  rubra.  The  leaves  are  three-lobed,  three-nerved, 
imequally  serrated  ;  base,  subcordate  entire  ;  lobes,  ovate  oblong,  acute 
or  acuminate ;  sinuses  broad,  with  large  interjected  acute  teeth.  Both 
surfaces  rough.  The  leaves  are  larger  than  those  of  the  red  species. 
Upper  lobes  more  ovate,  with  base  narrower ;  no  pube^scenee  l)eneath  : 
lateral  lobes  narrower  than  the  middle  teeth  of  the  sinuses,  sometimes 
entire,  sometimes  with  a  few  unequal  teeth  on  the  side,  upper  sinuses 
broader  than  the  lower." 

f  "  Termed  Broussonetia,"  says  Count  Dandolo,  "  from  the  name  of 
M.  Augustus  Broussonet,  a  distinguished  professor." 

i  "  The  bark  of  this  tree  not  only  furnishes  fibres  for  ropes,  but  it  can 
even  be  formed  into  a  species  of  cloth.  M.  la  Rouverie  affirms,  that  he 
procured  a  beautiful  vegetable  silk  from  the  young  branches  of  this  spe- 
cies of  mulberry ;  cutting  the  bark  while  the  tree  was  in  sap,  and  then 
beating  it  with  mallets  and  steeping  it  in  water,  he  obtained  a  thread  from 
the  fibres,  almosf  equal  to  silk  in  quality  ;  and  this  was  woven  into  a 
cloth  whose  texture  appeared  as  if  formed  of  that  material.  The  women 
of  Louisiana  obtain  a  similar  production  from  the  off-s'.inots  of  the  mul- 
berry. These  are  gathered  when  tliey  are  a'wut  i'nir  or  five  feet  high. 
The  bark  is  stripped  and  dried  in  the  sun.  It  is  then  beaten  to  get  rid 
of  the  external  part,  which  fall.-;  off,  leaving  the  inner  bark  entire.  This 
is  again  beaten,  to  make  it  still  liner,  after  which  it  is  bleached  in  dew. 
It  is  then  spun,  and  various  fabrics  arc  made  from  it,  such  as  webs  and 

*  Seni  iiy  Judge  Bry  to  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  :  Leiler  from  the  secretary 
of  the  treasury. 


140  THE  MTTLBERUY  TREK. 

The  Abbe  Grozier  speaks  of  tliis  species,  in  liis 
description  of  China,  in  the  following  manner,  "  This 
tree  is  so  much  more  precions  to  the  Chinese,  becanse 
it  furnishes  them  wiili  a  great  quantity  of  paper  which 
they  consume.  Wiien  its  branches  are  broken,  the 
bark  detaches  itself  and  peels  olf  like  long  ribands. 
To  judge  of  the  species  by  the  leaves,  it  would  be 
thought  to  be  a  wild  mulberry  tree  ;  but  by  its  fruit, 
it  resembles  more  a  fig  tree.  It  produces  milk  like 
the  fig,  if  pulled  before  it  ripens.  Its  resemblance  to 
the  fig  and  mulberry  trees,  may  be  the  cause  of  its 
being  regarded  as  a  species  of  sycamore.  It  grows 
on  mountains  and  stony  places." 

Species  IV.  and  V.  Morus  Tinctoria,  and  the 
MoRus  Indica,  which  seem  not  to  be  generally 
known,  are  not  used  for  the  nourishment  of  the  silk 
worm. 

Species  VI.  Morus  Tartarica,  or  Tartarian 
miilherry,  abounds  on  the  borders  of  the  Sea  of 
Azoph,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Volga,  and  of  the 
Don  or  Tanai's.  The  leaves  are  large,  oval,  oblong, 
serrated,  and  shining.  The  fruit  resembles  the  Morus 
Nigra.     The  leaves  afford  silk  of  the  finest  quality. 

It  is  proper  that  we  should  in  this  place  state,  that 
Count  Dandolo,  in  the  enumeration  of  his  12  species, 
mentions  the  Morus  Constantinopolitana,  as  well 
as  the  Morus  Tartarica.  But  he  nowhere  mentions 
the  Morus  Broussa.  This  circumstance,  and  the 
proximity  of  Constantinople  to  Broussa,  warrant  the 
presumption,  until  evidence  to  the  contrary,  that  these 
two  are  the  same.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the 
Broussa ca.n  be  raised  from  its  own  seed;  it  is,  there- 
fore, a  species ;  and  whether  this  species  may  be  con- 
sidered or  not  the  same  as  the  Moras  Tartarica  or 
Tartarian  mulberry,  may  be  in  some  degree,  deter- 
mined from  the  note  below.* 

fringes ;  and  sometimes  it  is  woven  into  cloth.  Tiie  finest  sort  of  cloth- 
ing among  the  inhabitants  of  Otaheite,  and  other  of  the  fSouth  Sea 
Islands,  is  made  of  the  bark  of  this  tree." — Dr.  Lardner. 

*  "  The  silks  of  Turkey  have  long  been  celebrated  for  their  softness, 


THE  MULBERRY  TREE.  141 

Species  VI I.  Morus  Alba,  called  the  White  or 
Italian  mulberry.  This  species  originally  was  from 
China,  but  has  been  most  extensively  cultivated  in 
Italy  and  France  for  ages.  The  silk  which  it  produces 
is  of  the  finest  quality.  The  leaves  are  cordate,  serrate, 
entire  or  lobed.  Their  upper  surface  is  a  shining 
greeu,  perfectly  smooth,  and  the  under  has  some  hairs 
set  on  its  edges.  The  flowers  are  monoecial ;  some 
males,  disposed  in  cylindrical  chatons,  supported  on 
peduncles,  longer  than  themselves  :  the  others,  females, 
form  round  or  oval  chatons,  rather  short  peduncles, 
which  are  succeeded  by  small  berries  of  the  same 
form,  and  of  a  red  or  white  colour.  The  fruit  is 
white,  roundish  oblong  and  insipid.  It  is  a  tree  of  a 
rapid  growth.  In  the  climate  of  Paris  it  attains  to  the 
height  of  25  or  30  feet,  but  in  more  southern  countries 
of  40  or  50  feet,  with  a  trunk  from  6  to  S  feet  circum- 
ference.*    This  tree  is  known  to  have  attained  the 

richness  and  brilliancy.  This  can  only  be  accounted  for,  from  the  supe- 
rior excellence  of  the  Turkish  mulberry,"  (Tiuiarica,  ConstuntmopoU- 
tana  or  Broiisxa  .?)  "  Fortunately  there  are  already  trees  growing  in  this 
country"  (America)  "f>-om  ike  seed's  cf  the  Broussa  niulberri/.  Mr. 
Charles  Rhind,  some  years  American  Consul  at  Odessa,"  {where  the  Tar- 
tarica  is  indigenous,)  "  struck  with  the  beuuty  and  the  brilliancy  of  the 
Turkish  silk,  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  was  attributable  to  the  superior 
qualities  of  their  mulberry  leaves  ;  and  that  he  could  not  confer  a  greater 
benefit  on  his  country,  than  in  acquiring  the  seed  of  this  species,  and 
planting  it  here.  From  the  local  situation  of  Broussa,  which  is  on  ele- 
vated ground  at  the  base  of  mount  Olympus,  whose  tops  are  covered 
with  perpetual  snow,  and  from  the  hardine.-^s  of  the  mulberry  trees  grow- 
ing there,  he  concluded  that  they  were  adapted  to  our  climate,  and  would 
resist  our  severest  winters.  He  obtained  a  (juanlify  of  the  Broussa 
seed,  and  committed  it  to  the  care  and  cultivation  of  David  Ruggles,  Esq., 
of  Newburgh  on  the  Hudson  River.  Under  the  superintendence  of  Mr, 
Ruggles,  he  has  growing  in  his  nursery,  ten  or  twelve  thousand  trees 
of  about  three  y^ars  old.  Mr.  Ruggles  asserts  that  these  trees  are  very 
hardy,  and  that  not  one  of  the  several  thousands  growing  in  his  nursery, 
has  been  affected  or  killed  by  the  frost  of  tlie  two  last  severe  winters." — 
The  Cultivator,  vol.  iv.  p.  14. 

"  I  wish,  however,  to  be  understood  that  by  Broussa,  I  do  not  mean 
all  those  various  kinds,  which  are  sold  under  that  name,  but  I  have  a 
direct  reference  to  the  tree  or  trees  which  Mr.  Charles  Rhind  brought  from 
Broussa  to  this  country." — Letter  of  Mr.  C.  F.  Uurant  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  American  Institute,  February,  1838. 

*  The  bark,  according  to  Rosier,  may  be  converted  into  linen  of  the 


142  THE   MULBE nUY  TREE. 

venerable  age  of  more  than  400  years.  Its  superiority 
over  every  other  mulberry,  except  the  morus  multi- 
cauUs,  consists  in  this  ;  it  is  clotlicd  with  leaves  fifteen 
or  twenty  days  earlier  than  the  other  ;  the  silk  worms, 
therefore,  come  more  speedily  at  maturity,  and  are 
thus  preserved  from  the  inconvenience  of  the  hot  sea- 
son. The  white  Italian  mnlberry,  moreover,  not  only 
grows  more  rapidly,  but  has  a  more  abundant  foliage  ; 
and  leaves  more  delicate  and  nutritious,  whence  the 
silk  is  more  handsome,  and  of  a  better  quality. 

The  forms  of  the  leaves  are  extremely  variable. 
M.  Audibert,*  an  experienced  cultivator  in  France, 
says,  "  that  the  same  tree  will  have  leaves  divided 
into  several  lobes,  when  yomig,  and  when  it  becomes 
old,  they  will  be  entire ;  others  have  the  second  crop 
of  leaves  difterently  formed  from  the  first ;  some  again 
have  entire  leaves  in  the  spring,  and  lobed  leaves  in 
autumn.  Hence  the  dirliculty  that  not  unfrequently 
occurs  on  this  and  other  accounts,  of  stating  what  are 
distinct  species,  and  what  are  merely  varieties. 

Of  this  tree  it  is  generally  confessed  indeed,  that 
there  are,  even  when  raised  from  seed  several  varie- 
ties;  many  of  which  are  of  inferior  quality,  the  trees 
being  thorny,  the  leaves  small  and  few  in  number. 
Hence  Count  Dandolo  sought  improvement  by  en- 
grafting or  inoculation  with  the  large  leaved  kinds. 
He  partictilarly  mentions  those  known  in  Lombardy, 
by  the  names,  folia  doppia,  and  folia  giazzolia. 
M.  Bourgeois  and  M.  Thome  recommend  those  graft- 
ed with  the  rose-leaved  ^n&  Spanish  mulberry. 

The  Count  says,  "  the  common  grafted  mulberry 
comprises  the  following  varieties  :  1.  Of  a  ivhite 
berry  :  2.  Of  a  red  berry  :  3.  Of  a  black  berry  :  4, 
Of  a  large  leaf  called  of  Tuscany :  5.  Of  a  middle 

fineness  of  silk.  For  this  purpose,  the  young  wood  is  gathered  in  autumn, 
(hiring  the  ascent  of  the  second  sap,  and  immersed  for  three  or  four  days 
in  water.  It  is  then  taken  out  at  sunset,  spread  on  grass,  and  returned 
to  the  water  at  sunrise,  and  this  is  daily  repeated,  until  tinally  it  is  pre- 
pared and  spun  like  llax. 

*  f]ssaisurdcs  muriers,  et  des  vcrs-a-soie,  par  M.  Deslongchamps,  p. 
21.  Paris,  1824. 


THE  MULBEUUY  TREE.  143 

sized  leaf,  dark  green,  called  in  Italy,  folia  giaz- 
zola  :  6,  Small  leaf,  of  a  dark  colour  rather  thick 
called  double  leaf,  more  difficult  to  pick,  but  the  best 
calculated  for  the  nutrition  of  the  silk  worm." 

M.  JNIorin,  who  paid  particular  attention  to  the 
mulberry,  informs  us,  that  "the  careful  culture  of  the 
while  mulberry  has  produced  many  varieties,  distm- 
guishable  into  the  tvild  and  grafted.  The  first  com- 
prises four  sub-varieties  ;  the  first  called  feuille 
ROSE,  rose  leaf,  bears  a  small  white  insipid  fruit,  and 
its  leaf  is  rounded  like  the  small  leaf  of  a  rose-bush, 
but  larger :  the  second,  la  feuille  doree,  the  gold 
leaf,  has  a  small  purple  fruit,  and  an  elongated  shin- 
ing leaf:  the  third,  la  reine  batarde,  or  bastard 
queen,  is  distinguished  by  its  black  fruit,  and  its 
leaves,  which  are  twice  as  large  as  the  rose  leafed, 
indented  in  their  circumference,  at  the  superior  ex- 
tremely elongated  to  a  point :  the  fourth  is  called, 
FEMELLE,  the  tree  is  thorny,  it  puts  forth  flowers  be- 
fore leaves,  which  are  divided  into  three  lobes  like 
clover. 

In  the  grafted  mulberry  we  distinguish  also  four 
varieties;  1,  La  reine,  the  queen,  with  leaves  shin- 
ing and  larger  than  any  of  the  wild  ;  its  fruit  is  ash- 
coloured  :  2.  La  grosse  reine,  large  queen,  has 
leaves  of  a  deep  green,  and  a  black  fruit :  3.  La 
FEUILLE  d'EspAGNE,  the  Spanish  leaf,  bears  very 
large  leaves,  extremely  rough  and  thick,  and  a  long 
white  berry  :  and  4.  La  feuille  de  flogs,  the  ivoolly 
leafed,  is  of  a  deep  green,  very  like  the  former,  but 
less  elongated  and  disposed  in  tufts  on  the  boughs. 
Its  fruit  very  abundant,  but  never  comes  to  maturity. 

However,  as  it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  the 
wild  mulberry,  as  the  morns  alba  grow  nowhere  in 
Europe  spontaneously,  but  we  meet  with  them  al- 
ways cultivated ;  and  the  young  plants  that  grow  in 
the  nurseries  cannot  be  considered  as  wild  specimens, 
since  they  come  from  seed  obtained  from  trees,  that 
a  long  culture  has  more  or  less  modified,  and  that 
they  have    themselves    sometimes   undergone    new 


144  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

changes  by-  the  effects  of  a  change  of  climate  and  pe- 
culiar treatment  in  the  culture  ;  therefore  it  is,  that  in 
even  the  trees  of  a  distinct  species  raised  from  seed 
we  observe  differences  more  or  less  considerable  in 
the  thickness  or  size  of  the  leaf  or  in  the  habit  of  re- 
maining entire,  or  dividing  into  lobes.  And  if  these 
young  trees  were  not  grafted  before  bearing  fruit,  we 
should  find  in  them  differences  which  might  serve  to 
distinguish  them ;  but,  otherwise,  they  must  create 
new  varieties  from  each  particular  seed. 

The  only  varieties  of  which  it  will  be  useful  to 
mention  are  those  which,  being  propagated  for  a  long- 
er or  shorter  time  from  the  seed,  have  been  distin- 
guished as  exhibiting  remarkable  characters  or  quali- 
ties, and  which,  therefore,  pains  have  been  taken  to 
multiply  by  cuttings  or  by  grafting  on  seeding  plants 
in  the  nursery  which  are  called  wild  stock.  Such 
are  the  following : 

1.  MoRus  ALBA  ROSEA,  rosc  Icafcd  mulberry. 
The  tree  is  slender,  with  branches  more  extended 
than  all  the  other  grafted  varieties.  It  may,  however, 
attain  a  great  height.  Its  wood  is  more  solid  and 
compact.  Its  leaves  are  shining  as  if  varnished,  rarely 
lobed,  borne  on  rose  petioles ;  and  its  fruit  is  of  a  rose 
gray. 

2.  MoRus  ALBA  ovALiFOLiA,  oval  leafed  ivhite 
mulberry,  or  Roman  7nulberry.  The  tree  is  large, 
and  grows  rapidly.  Its  leaves  are  large  and  hand- 
some, shining  on  the  upper  surface  ;  whole  and  some- 
times divided  into  three  or  five  lobes  on  the  young 
and  vigorous  stems.  Its  berries  are  rose  gray  or  lilac. 
This  variety  is  most  prevalent  in  Provence,  or  in  the 
environs  of  Avignon  or  Languedoc.  It  is  agreed  that 
the  rose  leafed  variety  produces  a  leaf  of  superior 
quality,  which  gives  a  good  silk,  and  occasions  not 
those  diseases  to  the  worms  which  arise  from  leaves 
too  moist,  or  from  a  soil  too  fertile. 

3.  MoRUs  ALBA  MACROPHYLLA,  the  grossc  rcine 
white  mulberry.  This  variety  grows  large,  but  not 
higher  than  the  Roman.    Its  shoots  are  large,  and  its 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  145 

buds  nearer  together.  No  other  variety  exhibits  so 
large  leaves.  They  are  a  httle  more  plaited,  and  their 
petiole  is  short.  The  berries  are  large  and  white, 
very  sugary,  without,  however,  the  agreeable  acidity 
of  the  berries  of  the  black  species.  A  smaller  quan- 
tity of  this  variety  is  planted,  and  its  leaves  are  only 
given  towards  the  end  of  the  feeding  season,  or  when 
the  worms  are  on  the  eve  of  moulting. 

4.  IMoRus  ALBA  oBLoxGiFOLiA,  or  langue  de  boeuf, 
or  ox  tongue  tnidberry.  Leaves  large,  shining,  not 
lobed  ;  nearly  twice  as  long  as  broad.  This  variety 
is  cultivated  in  the  Cevennes ;  but  it  is  not  much 
esteemed.  They  prefer  that  called  colomhussette^ 
which  seems  to  be  a  sub-variety  of  the  rose  leafed 
mulberry  of  Provence. 

5.  MoRus  ALBA  NANA,  the  dwarf  white  mulberry. 
This  tree  is  a  little  larger  than  that  known  under  the 
name  of  Constantinople  mulberry.  Its  leaves  are 
like  those  of  the  grosse  reine,  but  its  berries  are  white. 

The  dwarf  mulberry  may  be  advantageously  cul- 
tivated, since  its  boughs  are  near ;  and  this  tree  of 
small  size  will  furnish  as  many  leaves  as  another 
thrice  its  magnitude ;  and  a  greater  number  can  be 
planted  on  the  same  space  of  land. 

6.  IVIoRus  ALBA  iNTEGRiFOLiA.  A  mulbcrry  with 
leaves  always  Avhole  and  shining. 

7.  MoRUS  ALBA   INTEGRIFOLIA    OBSCURA.       LcaVCS 

always  whole  but  not  shining. 

8.  INIoRus  ALBA  sEMiLOBATA,  with  large  leaves, 
tough  as  leather;  divided  into  from  two  to  five  lobes. 

9.  MoRus  ALBA  LOBATA.  Lcavcs  divided  as  far 
as  the  centre  into  from  three  to  five  lobes.  This  mul- 
berry has  three  sub-varieties,  viz.  of  very  large,  mid- 
dling or  very  small  leaves. 

10.  MoRus  ALBA  LAciNiATA.  This  Variety  has  its 
leaves  divided  into  five  deep  lobes ;  of  which  the 
middle  one,  larger  than  all  the  others,  is  itself  divided 
into  five  or  six  alternate  lobes.  To  these  varieties 
may  be  added  another  cultivated  now  for  some  years 
past  in  the  Jardin  du  Roi,  and  brought  from  the  Isle 

13 


146  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

of  Bourbon,  by  Captain  Philibert.  Its  leaves  are 
whole  and  scarcely  marked,  nearly  dull  on  the  upper 
surface,  more  decidedly  pubescent  on  the  lower  tlian 
other  white  mulberries.  Its  parenchyme  or  pitch  is 
rather  small  and  dry.  It  withstands  the  rigour  of  the 
winter  even  when  unprotected  by  the  cultivator. 

M.  Loiseleur  Deslongchamps  has  pointed  out  still 
further  varieties  of  the  white  mulberry,  interesting  on 
account  of  the  qualities  they  possess  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  silk  worm. 

"The  Ji7'st  is  la  colombassette.  This  is  the 
most  ancient  known  variety  ;  its  leaf  is  small,  slender, 
thin,  very  soft ;  the  silk  worms  prefer  it  to  other  kinds. 
The  berries  at  maturity  are  yellowish  and  very  large. 
The  trees  are  the  largest  of  the  species,  and  of  the 
longest  duration. 

"The  second  is  la  rose.  Its  leaf  is  a  little  larger, 
and  of  rather  deeper  green  than  the  colombassette. 
It  is  as  good  for  the  nourishment  of  the  worms.  Its 
berries  are  reddish,  and  of  the  same  size  as  those  of 
the  precedkig  variety. 

"The  third  is  la  colombasse  verte,  exhibitmg 
two  sub-varieties,  which  are  designated  by  the  names 
of  the  large  and  the  small  colombasse  verte.  Its  leaves 
are  not  so  fine  as  the  two  first,  but  they  are  larger 
and  more  elongated.  Its  berries  are  bluish,  and  not 
so  large  as  those  of  the  colombassette  and  la  rose. 

"The  fourth  is  la  rabalayre,  or  traineuse  ;  a 
variety  much  resembling  the  colombasse  verte:  but 
which  is  essentially  distinguished  from  it,  in  its  buds 
being  further  apart,  and  of  consequence  the  tree  pro- 
duces less  leaves ;  but  as  it  is  less  exhausted  by  the 
production  of  foliage,  it  grows  large  and  developes 
itself  rapidly.  The  tree  bears  few  berries;  which 
are  of  the  same  colour  as  those  of  the  colombasse 
verte. 

The  fifth,  LA  pouMAou,  or  la  pomme.  Its  leaf  is 
large,  rather  fine,  and  of  a  round  form.  The  tree 
produces  scarcely  any  berries,  and  though  it  does  not 
throw  out  shoots  as  long  as  the  other  varieties,  it  fur- 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  147 

nishes  a  sufficiently  large  quantity  of  leaves,  because 
its  branches  are  leaved  in  their  whole  extent, 

"  The  sixth,  la  meyxe.  This  variety  has  the 
greatest  resemblance  to  the  preceding,  both  in  quality 
and  size.     The  form  of  the  leaf  is  not  so  round. 

"The  seventh,  l'amella,  or  l'amaxde.  The  leaf 
of  this  variety  is  oval,  much  thicker  and  heavier  than 
that  of  all  the  preceding,  and  more  ditlicult  to  gather. 
It  sutlers  less  than  those  from  the  cold,  or  from  winds 
and  dew  which  produce  mildew  or  mould ;  a  disease 
of  the  leaf  that  is  productive  of  loss.  The  tree  yields 
very  few  berries. 

"The  eighth  is  la  forcade,  or  la  foukche;  a  va- 
riety, whose  leaf  is  nearly  round,  and  very  abundant, 
on  account  of  the  proximity  of  its  buds. 

"The  ninth  is  la  dure.  It  bears  this  name,  because 
its  leaves  are  really  hard,  not  for  the  worms,  but  in 
detaching  them  from  the  branches.  It  requires  strong 
arms  to  gather  them ;  and  labourers  to  make  the 
work  lighter,  detach  them  singly.  Its  leaves  are 
nearly  round,  rather  fine,  and  are  produced  as  abund- 
antly as  those  of  the  fourcade.    It  produces  no  berries. 

"The  tenth  is  l'admirable.  This  variety  exceeds 
all  the  others  in  the  size  of  its  leaves,  which  are 
strong  and  thick,  and,  by  reason  of  the  nearness  of  the 
buds,  produces  them  in  greater  abundance.  They, 
generally,  are  not  given  till  after  the  fourth  moulting, 
because  the  worms  then  have  the  requisite  strength 
and  appetite  to  eat  them  without  injury.  When 
this  tree  is  set  deeply  and  well  cultivated,  its  leaves 
attain  an  extraordinary  size.  It  is  not  then  uncom- 
mon to  find  them  even  eleven  niches  long  by  nine 
broad.     The  berries  are  few,  small,  and  grayish." 

Of  these  ten  varieties  the  colonibasse,  and  the  co- 
lombassette,  are  most  favourable  to  the  health  of  the 
worm,  and  to  improvement  in  silk,  both  as  it  respects 
quantity  and  quality.  Notwithstanding,  in  France, 
the  preference,  generally,  is  given  to  the  ponmann, 
the  mcyne,  the  fonrcade,  Vamella  and  V admirable, 
on  account  of  the  abundance  of  leaves  they  produce. 


148  THE    MULBERHY    TREE. 

The  above  are  varieties  of  the  ivhite  mulberry } 
and  it  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said,  that  varie- 
ties of  this,  and  of  the  other  species,  may,  by  artificial 
culture  and  other  means,  be  tortured  to  an  almost 
indefinite  extent.  But  with  regard  to  what  are  the 
several  species  of  the  genus  mulberry,  we  have  al- 
ready observed  that,  authors  ditfer ;  and,  perhaps, 
will  do,  until  we  can  find  combined  in  one,  the  cha- 
racter of  the  accurate  botanist,  and  that  of  the  prac- 
tical horticulturist,  whose  skill  is  the  result  of  long- 
continued  and  patient  observation.  Count  Dandolo 
has  enumerated  no  less  than  twelve  kinds  as  species. 
Eminent,  no  doubt,  he  justly  is ;  but  then  it  is  chiefly 
for  the  accurate  development  of  his  valuable  expe- 
rience relative  to  the  wants,  habits,  and  economy  of 
the  silk  worm,  but  not  as  a  phytologist.  The  follow- 
ing, however,  is  his  enumeration  of  species. 

-'  1.  Morus  alba.  2.  M.  tartaria.  3.  M.  Constan- 
tinopolitana.  4.  M.  nigra,  (the  common  mulberry 
well  known  ;  its  fruit  of  a  sweet  flavour.  Particu- 
larly cultivated  in  the  ex-Venetian  provinces.)  5.  M. 
rribra,  (cultivated  in  botanical  gardens.)  6.  M.  in- 
dica,  (also  cultivated  for  botanical  purposes.)  7.  M. 
latifolio,  cultivated  in  botanical  hot-houses.  8.  M. 
aiistralis.  9.  M.  mauriiiana,  (these  three  latter 
sort  are  little  known  in  Italy.)  10.  M.  tinctoria. 
11.  M.  papyri/era.  (These  two  last  have  been 
recently  transported  into  another  class  of  plants, 
termed  M.  Broussonetia.)  The  list  I  have  given 
sufficiently  shows  the  variety  of  mulberry  leaves 
which  might  be  found  even  more  suitable  to  the 
nourishment  of  the  silk  worm,  than  those  hitherto 
used." 

With  the  exception  of  the  enumeration  of  a  few  of 
the  varieties  of  the  white  mulberry,  the  above  is  all 
the  information  we  shall  derive  from  Count  Dandolo's 
work  "on  the  Art  of  rearing  Silk  IVorms,''^  relative 
to  what  kinds  are  distinct  species  of  the  mulberry ; 
though  as  to  the  subject  on  which  it  professedly  treats, 
we  shall  find  the  most  ample  satisfaction.     But  how 


THE    MULBERRr    TREE.  149 

very  different  is  this  from  the  enumeration  of  species 
given  in  Loudon's  "Encyclopaedia  of  Plants;"  than 
which,  both  as  a  botanical  work,  and  a  recent  pro- 
duction, no  other  Treatise  stands  equally  and  more 
justly  eminent.*  In  this  work  the  kinds  ranked  as 
species  are  only  five,  viz. 

Class,  ^loyoECE A]  Order,  Tetrandria;   Genus, 

MoRUS. 

Species  I.  Alba;  white;  China;  leaves  deeply  cordate, 
unequal  at  the  base,  ovate,  lobed,  unequally  ser- 
rated, smoothish. 

Species  II.  Tartarica  ;  Tartarian  ;  Tartary  ;  leaves 
slighdy  cordate,  equal  at  the  base,  ovate  or 
lobed,  equally  serrated,  smooth.! 

Species  III.  Nigra;  black  or  common;  Italy;  leaves 
cordate,  ovate  or  lobed,  unequally  toothed,  sca- 
brous.J 

Species  IV.  Rubra;  red;  North  America;  leaves  cor- 
date, ovate,  acuminate  or  three-lobed,  equally 
serrated,  scabrous,  soft  beneath.  Fem.,  spikes 
cylindrical. t 

Species  V.  Tinctoria;  fusticwood;  West  Indies;  leaves 
oblong,  unequal  at  the  base ;  spines  axillary, 
solitary.  § 

•  «  Encyclopaedia  of  Plants,"  by  J.  C.  Loudon,  F.L.S.  H.S.,  &c.  and 
others,  London,  1836,  8vo.  pp.  1160,  price  £3  13.s.  M.  In  the  produc- 
tion of  this  volume  more  botanical  works  have  been  consulted  than  most 
men  can  have  access  to  in  a  century. 

j  ••  Morus  rubra  hx^  black  shoots,  rougher  leaves  than  the  black  mul- 
berry, and  a  dark  reddish  fruit,  longer  than  the  common  sort,  and  of  a 
very  pleasant  taste.  The  tree  is  cultivated  in  China,  but  not  so  gene- 
rally as  the  white  mulberry.  Morus  tartarica  bears  pale  red  berries  of 
an  insipid  taste,  but  eaten  in  Russia  fresh,  conserved  or  dried." 

t  "  Youn:;  trees,  like  most  of  the  monoecious  class,  often  produce 
only  male  blossoms  for  many  years  after  they  are  planted,  and  yet  after- 
wards become  fruitful.  As  the  tree  increases  in  age,  it  increases  in 
fruitfulness.  In  some  of  the  old  gardens  near  London,  there  are  black 
mulberry  trees,  of  a  great  age,  which  are  very  healthy  and  fruitful ; 
most  of  which  were  planted  in  the  time  of  James  I." 

§  '■  Morus  tinctoria  is  a  tall  branching  tree,  with  a  fine  head,  smooth 
leaves,  and  awl-shaped  solitary  spines.     The  whole  plant  abounds  in  a 


150  THE    MtJLBERIlV    TREE. 

Notwithstanding  these  authorities,  we  find,  in  a 
recent  publication,  the  following  noticed,  not  as  a 
variety,  but  as  a  species,  viz. 

"  Dandolo,  or  Morettianna  mulberry,  is  a  new 
and  most  valuable  species  of  mulberry  for  the  nou- 
rishment of  the  silk  worm.  It  was  first  discovered 
about  1815,  by  M.  Moretti,  professor  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pavia.  The  tree  is  presumed  to  be  hardy ; 
the  fruit  which  is  at  first  violet,  becomes  at  maturity 
perfectly  black.  The  leaf  is  ovate,  sharp  pointed, 
entire,  cordate  at  the  base.  It  is  thin,  smooth  on  the 
under  and  especially  on  the  upper  surface ;  which  is 
of  a  beautiful  and  rather  deep  shining  green.  It  is 
not  near  so  thick  as  that  of  the  large  white  mulberry, 
called  in  France  the  admirable:  and  is  thinner  than 
that  of  the  Spainsh  viulberry  or  morns  nigra.  It 
is  neither  wrinkled  nor  plaited.  Generally,  the  leaf 
is  nearly  eight  inches  wide,  and  ten  inches  long. 
This  mulberry  will  be  most  profiiably  cultivated  in 
the  form  of  a  hedge,  and  from  the  superior  size  of  the 
leaf,  its  foliage  is  gathered  with  facility.  Its  superior 
quality  has  been  proved  by  the  experiments  of  M. 
Gera,  and  Count  Dandolo,  who  assert  that  it  pro- 
duces silk  of  a  more  beautiful  gloss,  and  finer  quality 
than  common  silk.* 

The  following,  however,  by  the  somewhat  indeter- 
minate language  and  method  of  the  same  author  is 
acknowledged  to  be  a  variety. 

"  MoRus  LuciDA,  or  shining  leaved.     The  leaves 


slightly  glutinous  milk  of  a  sulphureous  colour.  The  timber  is  yellow, 
and  a  good  deal  used  in  dyeing,  for  which  it  is  imported  under  the  name 
of  fusticvvood." 

"  All  the  species  of  mortis  arc  rent  ark  able  for  putting;  out  their  leaves 
late ;  so  that  when  thejj  appear,  gardeners  may  safety  set  out  their 
greenhouse  plants,  taking  it  for  granted,  that  all  danger  from  frost  is 
over." — Loudon's  Encycl.  of  Plants,  p.  783. 

*  See  the  whole  article  inserted  by  the  Hon.  H.  A.  S.  Dearborn,  in 
the  New  England  Farmer,  vol.  viii.  No.  29.  It  is  from  the  Annales 
d'HorticuIture ;  and  it  is  extracted  from  the  report  of  Dr.  Fontaneilles, 
on  a  letter  published  by  M.  Gera  in  1826,  in  the  Journal  of  Physics  and 
of  Chemistry  of  Pavia. 


THE    iMULBERRY   TREE-  15t 

are. very  large,  pointed,  cordate  and  shining.  This 
VARIETY  is  said  to  be  highly  deserving  of  cultivation 
for  the  nourishment  of  silk  worms." 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON    THE    CULTURE    OF    SPECIES,    OR    OF    KINDS    CAPABLE    OF 
REPRODUCTION  FROM  SEED. 

CLIMATK,  SOIL,  SITCATIOX,  SEED,  SEEDLINGS,  NURSERIES,  ENGRAFT- 
ING, &C.  TRANSPLANTING,  STANDARDS,  PLANTATIONS,  INSTRU- 
MENTS. 

The  question  of  climate  refers  at  once  not  only 
to  the  mulberry,  but  also  to  the  silk  worm ;  for  the 
former  would  cease  to  be  an  interesting  object  of 
cultivation,  could  it  be  found  in  a  region  where  it 
might  be  satisfactorily  proved  that  the  latter,  at  least 
toith  such  adventitious  means  as  peculiar  circum- 
stances might  require,  could  not  exist,  or  perform, 
with  success,  functions  so  important  to  the  conve- 
niences of  man.  Both  the  one  and  the  other,  as  the 
question  refers  to  latitude,  have  been  found  in  a 
prosperous  condition,  in  all  parallels  from  the  equator 
to  that  of  fifty-four  degrees  in  Russia,  and  of  fifty- 
five  degrees  in  Sweden.  But  how  far  the  influence 
of  moisture  held  in  solution,  within  topical  limits,  in 
the  atmosphere,  may  be  corrected,  is  a  question  that 
remains  yet  to  be  proved,  by  that  peculiar  kind  of 
cocoonery,  which  hereafter,  for  distinction  sake,  we 
shall  call  the  Dandoliere,  which  is  useful  chiefly  in 
countries  where  humidity  is  prevalent.* 

•  "  The  silk  worm  is  by  no  means  so  delicate  as  many  may  imagine. 
Mr.  Cobb  saw  the  insects  raised  by  M.  d'Homergue  in  a  yard  of  mul- 
berry trees  in  Philadelphia,  which  endured  cold  windy  days,  and  storms 
of  rain  and  thunder ;  and  notwithstanding  spun  in  thirty  days.  At 
Northampton,  also,  the  eggs  of  the  silk  worm,  which  had  been  deposited 


152  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

In  the  recommendation  of  soil  proper  for  the  cul- 
ture of  the  mulberry,  there  has,  amongst  authors,  been 
some  discrepancy.  Although  it  is  to  be  conceded  that 
this  invaluable  plant  will  flourish  in  a  rnoist  and  rich 
soil,  and  even,  of  course,  more  luxuriantly  when  thus 
favoured  than  it  otherwise  would,  yet  experience  has 
proved  that  not  only  the  leaves  thus  produced  are  not 
so  suitable  to  the  health  of  the  worms,  but  that  the 
vegetative  function  is  thus  protracted  too  late  in  the 
autumn  to  allow  the  young  wood  to  ripen  sufficiently 
to  withstand  the  attacks  of  early  frost.  The  majority 
of  authors,  therefore,  and  amongst  them  the  most  ex- 
perienced, agree  that  the  soil  should  be  dri/,  sandy 
loam,  or  stony.  It  has  been  even  said,  though  per- 
haps the  opposite  extreme,  "  the  more  stony  the  bet- 
ter, provided  that  the  roots  can  penetrate."  Of  stiffer 
soils,  a  calcareous  sandy  clay  is  to  be  preferred.  But 
clay  that  is  heavy,  and  earth  that  is  fenny  or  marshy, 
and  on  which  through  excess  of  moisture,  the  frost 
has  greater  power  in  winter,  not  only  expose  young 
trees  to  greater  danger  before  their  coating  is  formed 
and  wood  matured,  but  also  favour  the  growth  of 
moss  on  the  bark,  and  of  leaves  too  full  of  moisture 
to  suit  the  health  of  the  worm.  In  this  country,  it  is 
admitted  as  a  general  rule,  that  all  soils  adapted  to 
the  culture  of  Indian  corn,  or  that  will  produce  ten 
bushels  and  more  to  the  acre,  are  adapted  to  the  cul- 
ture of  the  mulberry. 

As  to  SITUATION  or  SHELTER,  all  agrcc,  that  nurse- 
ries and  plantations  should  have  a  sunny  exposure^ 
and  protection  against  strong  cold  winds.  Declivities, 
hill  sides,  land  sloping  towards  the  east,  south-east 

oil  the  outside  of  a  window  frame,  remained  uninjured  and  hatched  well, 
although  they  had  endured  alternate  sunshine  and  cold  winds  and  storms, 
and  the  extreme  rigours  of  the  last  uncommon  winter,  and  a  degree  of 
cold  thirty-three  degrees  below  zero.  There  too  stood  the  connnon 
white  mulberry,  and  the  multicaulis ;  the  plants  of  three  years  growth. 
A  shelter,  however,  is  necessary  for  the  silk  worm,  to  defend  it  at  once 
from  long  and  fatal  storms,  and  from  insects  and  birds  of  prey." — Ken- 
rick.  See  on  the  subject  of  Climate,  the  History  of  Silk  in  this  volume, 
as  it  refers  to  China. 


THE    MULBEnHY    TREE.  153 

or  south,  and  protected  on  the  north  and  north-west, 
by  woods,  groves,  artificial  plantations,  or  buildings, 
are  situations  eligible  to  favour  and  sustain  the  growth 
of  the  mulberry. 

As     to     the     PREPARATION     OP     THE     GROUND     if    for 

standard  trees,  let  it  be  manured  in  the  cavity  dug 
for  the  tree,  but  if  for  hedge  rows,  in  the  drill,  with  a 
compost  made  of  one-eighth  lime,  three-eighths  mould 
or  decomposed  leaves,  one-fourth  stable  manure  half 
rotted,  and  the  remaining  fourth  of  leached  ashes, 
prepared  and  suffered  previously  to  mellow  for  three 
or  four  months,  during  which  it  should  be  three  or 
four  times  turned  up  and  mixed  with  any  well  rotted 
manure.  The  ground  itself  should  be  prepared,  if  for 
hedge  rows,  by  previous  ploughing  in  the  autumn, 
and  once  again  on  the  opening  of  spring.  The  reader 
will  recollect  that  we  now  treat  of  the  white,  &c. 
mulberry,  as  the  varieties  require  different  culture. 
But  if  IT  is  TO  BE  PREPARED  FOR  A  SEED  BED;  mauure 
it  well  with  a  compost  made  of  stable  manure,  ashes, 
decomposed  leaves,  of  each  one-third,  or  instead  with 
any  well  rotted  manure.  Let  the  soil  be  dug  deeply, 
finely  pulverized,  and  laid  off  in  drills  twelve  inches 
apart,  and  half  an  inch  deep. 

To  OBTAIN  THE  SEED.  As  fast  as  thc  fruit  ripens, 
it  should  be  gathered,  otherwise  it  will  fall  from  the 
tree  and  be  lost,  or  devoured  by  birds.  When  a 
portion  of  the  fruit  i^  ripe,  spread  blankets  under  the 
trees,  and  shake  them  gently  every  morning  daring 
the  ripening  season.  By  this  means  the  ripe  berries 
are  disengaged  from  the  boughs,  and  falling  on  the 
blankets,  are  easily  gathered,  whilst  those  that  are 
unripe  remain  undisturbed. 

To  PREPARE  THE  SEED.*     To  avoid  fermentation, 

•  To  save  the  seed  of  the  white  mulberry,  M.  de  Labegaire  gives  the 
following  directions.  "  Gather  the  berries  as  they  fall  from  the  tree ; 
put  them  for  two  days  in  a  dry  place,  where  they  must  be  turned  up 
and  down  for  fear  they  should  be  heated ;  after  which  mash  them  with 
your  hands  in  a  tub,  pouring  over  them  some  water  from  time  to  time 
in  order  to  separate  the  seed  from  the  must.  Let  then  the  water  settle 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  all  the  useless  particles  floating  over  will 


154  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

suffer  not  the  seed  to  remain  in  the  fruit  longer  than 
three  days;  but  put  it  into  any  convenient  vessel, 
and  raash  the  fruit  with  the  hand,  into  a  pulp.  On 
this  mass,  having  poured  water,  stir  it  briskly  till  a 
complete  separation  takes  place  between  the  seed  and 
the  pulp.  During  the  process,  frequently  decant  the 
water  from  oft"  the  sediment,  and  with  it  suffer  all 
super-natant  seed  to  flow  oftV^s  not  good.  Rub  the 
last  sediment  through  a  sieve  with  meshes  of  sufficient 
size  to  admit  the  passage  of  the  seed,  which  should 
be  then  laid  on  bibulous  paper,  or  spread  thinly  on 
cloths  and  dried  in  the  shade.  Put  it  finally  in  bot- 
tles, when  well  dried,  and  by  corking  well,  by  situa- 
tion and  other  means,  exclude  the  light,  air,  and 
dampness.  The  white  mulberry  seed  is  of  an  obtuse 
triangular  shape  ;  and  of  a  dark,  dull,  yellow  colour, 
and  full  of  oil.  The  fruit  of  the  white  mulberry,  when 
ripe,  if  put  in  the  ground  whole,  will  vegetate  imme- 
diately, and  if  the  plant  be  kept  weeded,  will  be  suf- 
ficiently advanced,  with  the  aid  of  a  slight  covering, 
to  stand  the  winter.  The  first  fruit  of  this  tree  ripens 
about  June.  It  may  be  sowed  on  well  pulverized 
ground  and  covered  with  a  fine  toothed  rake.  As  to 
the  preparation  of  seed,  so  far  as  it  refers  to  imme- 
diate sowing,  be  it  remembered  that  there  are  authors 
who  reconwLicndi previous  soaking,  some  in  roW, others 
in  warm,  some  in  hot,  others  in  boiling  ivater! ! 
and  a  few  in  oxymuriatic  acid,  ox  in  a  solution  of 
the  chlorate  of  potassa,  for  a  time  varying  according 
to  the  creed  of  the  several  experimentalists,  from  six  to 
forty-eight  hours  !  All  this,  at  best,  in  the  present 
state  of  this  soaking  theory,  or  without  further  limi- 
tation, is  indefinite  and  venturesome.  It  may  be  very 
well,  on  the  small  scale,  as  to  some  limited  crop,  or 
as  a  matter  of  experiment.     But  should  this  time  for 

be  taken  out.  Repeat  the  washings  till  the  seed  is  Jisenjiaged  and  pure. 
The  best  seed  being  the  heaviest,  will  stay  at  the  bottom  of  the  tub. 
Then  spread  the  seed  to  dry  upon  a  piece  of  linen,  and  when  dry  it 
iiiust  be  put  by  till  the  season  for  sowing," — which  should  be  about 
the  1st  of  May. 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  155 

soaking,  particularly  as  it  refers  to  any  large  crop,  be 
protracted,  which  it  may  especially  in  the  hurry  of 
the  spring  season,  by  the  labourers  being  prevented 
by  other  pressing  duties,  from  sowing  the  soaked  seed 
until  after  the  germinative  vigour  of  the  seed  is  ex- 
hausted by  this  precocious  and  ill-timed  process,  the 
whole  crop,  whether  it  be  of  one  or  twenty  acres,  will 
be  unquestionably  lost.*  As  to  the  term  Ao/t  water, 
it  is  grossly  ambiguous,  and  the  term  boiling  not  less 
questionable,  however  recommended.  On  the  whole 
it  would  be  safer,  especially  to  avoid  the  possibility 
of  previous  accident  and  delay,  instead  of  antecedent 
soaking,  to  water,  from  the  common  gardening  pot, 
after  the  dry  seed  is  in  the  ground,  the  beds,  with  a 
very  mildX  solution  of  the  carbonate  of  potassa.  This 
was  never  yet  tried  but  with  success.  The  Chinese 
books  say,  "  when  the  time  for  sowing  is  come,  the 
seed  must  be  mixed  with  some  ashes  from  the  burnt 
branches  of  the  mulberry  trees,  and  they  must  be 
soaked  to  make  them  soft.  The  next  day  the  seed 
must  be  washed  with  care,  and  those  that  float  re- 
jected. The  full  seed  must  be  dried  in  the  sun  until 
the  absorbed  water  has  entirely  evaporated.  They 
can  then  be  sown, and  they  never  fail  to  growrapidly." 
Nong-sang-thong-kioid.  Here  is,  however,  no  men- 
tion of  hot  or  boiling  water. 

Mode  of  testing  the  qualitt  of  seed. — This  is 
a  point,  in  this  age  of  studied  selfishness  and  designed 
deceit,  far  from  being  unimportant,  especially  when 
the  seed  of  certain  vegetables  may,  so  far  as  appear- 

*  In  this  way  precisely,  a  farmer  lately,  within  ten  miles  of  Phila- 
delphia, lost  the  valuable  crops  of  ten  acres,  on  which  he  relied  for  the 
payment  of  his  rent.  He  depended  on  this  soaking  theory,  and  it  ren- 
dered him  insolvent. 

-(•  "  In  a  solution  of  soot  and  hot  water  for  forty-eight  hours,"  says  a 
publication  of  1838. 

t  Two  ounces  dissolved  in  three  gallons  ;  and  the  watering  repeated, 
if  the  season  be  dry.  The  water  generally,  in  all  natural  cases,  is 
agent  sufficient  without  any  thing  adventitious.  But  a  weak  alkaline 
solution,  or  even  water  with  common  soap-suds  will  not  injure.  On 
the  contrary,  the  result  has  frequently  been  a  luxuriant  crop. 


156  THE    MULBERUV    TREE. 

ance  goes,  be  easily  substituted,  and  sold  at  a  high 
price,  to  any  one  not  a  connoisseur,  for  that  of  the 
mulberry.  Seed  bought  at  the  shops  may  not  only 
be  spurious,  productive  merely  of  hybrids,  but  also 
old,  and,  therefore,  liable  to  protract  the  germinating 
process,  until  neutralized  or  destroyed  by  the  frost.  In 
order  to  guard  against  imposition,  seed  of  domestic 
growth  should  be  preferred  when  it  can  be  obtained,  or 
procured  at  least  from  those  on  whose  veracity  we  can 
depend.*  Such  seed,  or  that  on  the  quality  of  which 
we  can  rely,  may  be  safely,  at  the  proper  season, 
committed  to  the  ground  ;  in  it,  as  well  as  in  the  best 
sample,  there  may  be  some  unproductive  seeds,  which 
the  common  vegetative  process  will  in  the  natural 
way  indicate.  A  recent  writer  says  :  "  Soak  the  seed 
in  hot  water  a  few  hours,  when  the  seed  that  is 
worthless  will  float,"  without  having  the  politeness 
to  tell  us,  how  hot.  This  gentleman,  no  doubt,  is 
fond  of  a  hot  potato,  but  we  could  readily  obtain 
him  one,  which  if  it  once  reached  his  mouth,  he 
would  be  glad  to  drop  it  soon,  as  a  bad  concern. t 
"  It  is  computed,"  says  a  writer  in  the  first  volume 
of  Fessenden's  Silk  Manual,  that  one  ounce  of  seed 
properly  sown  will  give  about  5000  young  trees." 
Another  writer  allows  aboiU  8000  trees  to  the  ounce, 
and  from  the  average  of  these  two,  we  may  infer 
100,000  trees  to  the  pound  of  seed  avoirdupois.  This 
is  confirmed  by  what  Mr.  Comstock  says,  viz  :  "  From 
a  single  pound  of  seed,  one  hundred  thousand  plants 
may  be  reasonably  expected."  There  are  in  one 
pound  avoirdupois,  of  wliite  mulberry  seed,  about 
322,700  seeds.l      This  therefore    allows  one   seed 


*  Turnip,  poppy  and  other  seeds,  have  been  sold  in  the  "  down  east," 
for  the  genuine  multicaulis  seed  ;  first  at  $5  an  ounce,  then  at  the  same 
price  for  a  small  paper  containing  2000  seeds,  not  worth  one  cent. 

■j"  "  Before  sowing,"  says  Judge  Comstock,  "  the  seed  ought  to  be 
steeped  in  water  about  blood  ivarm,  for  24  or  36  hours."  Now  this  is 
definite  ;  and  if  the  seed  be  sown  immediately  after,  the  above  objection 
will  not  apply;  but  we  should  think  24  hours  to  be  amply  suflRcient. 

\  According  to  an  actual  trial,  made  this  day,  9th  February,  1839. 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  157 

nearly  out  of  every  three  to  vegetate.  On  this  sub- 
ject, Count  de  Hazzi,  says:  "  From  9,600  to  10,000 
seeds  weigh  about  one  ounce  of  our  Bavarian  weight, 
and  320,000,  or  at  least  300,000  seeds  mayonlhe 
average  be  considered  to  the  pound." 

Time  of  sowing.  From  the  first  of  ApriUto  the 
hes^innins^  of  May,  or  even  in  favourable  situations, 
should  circumstances  require  it,  so  late  as  the  begin- 
ning of  June.  But  it  should  be  remembered,  that 
the  earlier  the  spring  sowing,  the  more  strength, 
firmness  and  bark  the  seedling  will  acquire  to  resist 
the  attacks  of  its  first  winter,  which  will  be  the  most 
critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  young  plant. 
Autumnal  sowing  for  no  species  of  mulberry  can  be 
fully  recommended.  But  if  peculiar  circumstances 
should  render  it  desirable  when  it  could  not  be  at- 
tended to  in  the  previous  spring,  it  may  be  attempted 
with  partial  safety,  not  later  than  the  first  week  of 
August  *  provided  that  every  facility,  by  manuring, 
pulverizing,  weeding,  and  subsequent  culture,  by 
covering  the  young  plants  with  horse  manure,  straw 
or  refuse  hay  on  the  approach  of  winter,  be  afforded 
to  the  beds  intended  for  its  reception. 

Maxxer  of  sowing.  The  seed  may  be  sown  in 
seed  beds  or  nurseries,  as  best  suits  the  convenience 
of  the  cultivator.  When  land  is  no  object,  it  will  be 
best  to  sow  them  in  the  nursery,  as  it  will  save  the 
labour  of  once  transplanting.  For  spring  sowing  the 
land  should  be  prepared  by  ploughing,  &c.,  the  pre- 
ceding fall.  Every  cultivator  knows  the  fertilizing 
effects  of  frost  and  snow,  and  consequently  ought  to 
avail  himself  of  them  at  the  proper  season. t  The 
ground  should  also  be  ploughed  again,  or  two  or  three 
times  if  necessary  to  render  it  light  and  friable,  in  the 

White  mulberry  seed  has  been  sellmg  in  New  England  at  various  prices 
for  some  years  past  from  S4  00  to  even  §7  50  per  lb. 

*  A  quantity  of  seed  thus  treated  in  Philadelphia  lived  through  the 
cold  winter  of  1825-6. 

■\  Dig  or  plough  the  preceding  autumn,  and  leave  the  ground  rough, 
and  exposed  to  the  pulverizing  action  of  frost  and  thaw  all  winter. 

14 


158  THE  MULBERRY  TREE. 

spring.  Two  or  three  dressings  of  manure  well 
ploughicd  in,  will  be  of  essential  service.  The  seed 
may  be  sown  in  drills,  at  sufficient  distances  asunder 
to  admit  of  passing  between  them*  for  the  purpose 
of  weeding  and  hoeing.  Roll  the  seed  in  plaster  of 
Paris,  or  mix  with  mould,  then  sow  it  tolerably  thick, 
as  in  the  sowing  of  onions  or  carrots.  For  a  single 
ounce  of  seed,  a  bed  fifty  feet  long  and  four  broad,  pre 
pared  by  manuring  and  culture,  as  already  described, 
will  be  sufficient.  With  the  rake  cover  the  seed  not 
more  than  half  an  inch  in  depth  with  rich  mould, 
and  immediately  press,  or  lightly  tread,  or  roll  down 
the  mould  to  cause  the  seed  to  come  into  contact  with 
the  earth ;  and  over  the  whole  may  be  laid  some 
horse  manure. 

Subsequent  culture  of  the  seed  beds  and 
SEEDLINGS.  Should  the  weather  be  dry,  water  the 
seed  beds  every  other  evening.  The  ground  must 
be  stirred  occasionally,  or  the  soil  lightened  between 
the  drills,  and  the  beds  at  all  times  kept  clean  of 
weeds.  With  barn-yard  drain,  or  soap-suds,  continue 
to  water  once,  in  dry  weather  twice,  a  week,  and  in 
every  case  either  before  the  rising  or  after  the  setting 
of  the  sun.  It  is  important  to  push,  by  every  means, 
the  growth  of  the  young  plants  sown  in  spring,  in 
order  that  the  stronger  ones,  at  least,  may  be  trans- 
planted into  nursery  beds  on  the  ensuing  spring. 
The  watering  should  not  be  carried  on  after  August. 

"  I  have  sown  the  mulberries  in  July,"  says  Mr. 
Cobb,  "  and  they  have  sprouted,  and  come  on 
rapidly  ;  but  the  frosts  of  winter,  in  our  climate,  (New 
England,)  have  been  too  severe  for  them.  I  would 
recommend  to  sow  the  seed  in  the  spring.  From  a 
quarter  of  an  acre  of  ground,  the  last  season,  I  had 
over  10,000  plants,  produced  from  seed  sown  in  the 
spring,  in  the  way  above  mentioned,"  (equivalent  to 
40,000  per  acre,)  "  some  of  them  upwards  of  a  foot  in 
height." 

•  From  one  to  two  feet  distant. 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  159 

On  the  near  approach  of  winter,  or  on  the  first 
appearance  of  what  is  commonly  called  black  frost, 
cover  the  plant  beds  with  long  stable  manure,  leaves, 
straw,  or  matting,  and  confine  the  covering  with 
twigs  of  pine  or  evergreen,  until  the  middle  of  the 
ensuing  April.  Even  then,  the  covering  is  to  be  re- 
moved only  with  caution,  lest  the  young  plants  should 
be  exposed  too  suddenly  to  sudden  returns  of  frost  or 
bleak  winds  before  a  more  mature  growth  and  the 
further  advance  of  spring  render  them  secure.  Care 
must  be  taken,  in  covering  the  plants,  not  to  oppress 
or  smother  them. 

Transplanting  does  not  appear  always  to  take  place 
so  early  in  France  as  with  us ;  nevertheless  part  of 
their  practice  seems  worthy  of  our  attention.  "  The 
plants  will  soon  show  themselves,  when  they  must  be 
thinned,  if  growing  too  thick,  putting  them,  as  near 
as  possible,  two  or  three  inches  apart.  After  having 
let  them  come  to  the  size  of  a  goose  quill,  it  will  be 
necessary,  for  at  least  three  years,  counting  that  in 
which  they  are  sown,  to  tend  them  during  the  whole 
time  in  the  following  manner.  At  their  first  appear- 
ance they  should  be  thinned :  the  second  year  they 
are  to  be  pruned  of  all  the  small  branches  up  to  a 
foot  from  the  ground ;  from  time  to  time  they  must 
be  watered ;  they  should  also  be  weeded  with  a 
weeding  hook,  have  frequent  tillage ;  be  retrenched 
of  all  the  superfluous  branches,  and  all  that  are  un- 
thrifty, poor,  or  grubby  must  be  entirely  cut  off".  The 
best  only  are  to  be  grafted,  after  having  transplanted 
them  to  another  place,  dug  about  and  tilled  anew, 
and  set  at  the  distance  of  at  least  three  feet  from  one 
another."* 

Sowing  by  the  whole  fruit.  We  cannot  omit 
to  mention  that  JNIr.  W.  H.  Vernon  of  Rhode  Island 
has,  through  the  medium  of  his  translation,  published 
at  Boston  in  182S,  of  M.  de  la  Brousse's  Treatise  on 
the  Cuhivation  of  the  Mulberry  Tree,  and  on  the 

*  Morin. 


160  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

raising  of  Silk  Worms,  favoured  us  with  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  French  mode  of  sowing  by  the 
whole  fruit,  or  berry,  instead  of  by  the  dried  seed. 
"On  two  acres  of  land,  or  on  any  other  quantity,  at 
the  will  of  the  proprietor,  beds  must  be  made  four 
feet  ivide,  levelled  and  smoothed  with  the  rake.  On 
these  beds  must  be  traced  by  a  line  eight  small  fur- 
rows lengthwise,  two  inches  wide,  and  very  little 
more  than  half  an  inch  deep,  and  at  the  distance  of 
six  inches  from  one  furrow  to  another.  At  this 
moment  it  is  necessary  to  be  provided  with  mulber- 
ries, (i.  e.  the  fruit,)  from  the  white  mulberry  tree  or 
else  from  the  Spanish,  which  are  the  two  most  proper 
kinds  for  this  purpose ;  they  must  then  be  dropped 
in  the  furrows,  at  the  distance  of  twelve  inches  from 
each  other,  must  be  covered  from  the  sides  of  the 
furrows,  and  the  beds  carefully  levelled  with  a  short 
toothed  rake." 

"  There  are  two  seasons  for  making  nurseries,  the 
spring,  and  the  time  of  the  maturity  of  the  fruit. 
Those  who  choose  to  sow  the  seed  of  the  mulberry 
ill  the  m,onth  of  April,  must  consequently  use  the 
dried  seed  gathered  nine  m,onths  before,  and  less  apt 
to  sprout.  But  those  who  sow  the  fruit  at  its  matu- 
rity, enveloped  with  all  its  moisture,  (or  pulp,)  which 
seems  intended  for  its  nourishment,  and  to  give  it,  if 
we  may  use  the  expression,  its  first  milk,  have  gene- 
rally the  pleasure  of  seeing  it  put  forth  with  vigour. 
Besides  the  heat  of  the  season,  provided  the  proprietor 
use  the  precaution  to  water  the  plants,  will  necessarily 
cause  their  rapid  growth." 

Sowing  broad-cast.  This  method  is  extensively 
and  usefully  practised  in  China ;  and  has  also  been 
tried  with  success  and  profit  in  New  England. 
Though  culturists  generally  prefer  the  crops  of  stand- 
ard trees  or  hedges,  and  the  recent  introduction  of  the 
multicaulis  may  render  this  process  less  necessary, 
yet  occasions  may  exist  wherein  for  special  purposes 
it  may  be  expedient. 

On  ground  previously  prepared  sow  the  seed,  broad- 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  161 

cast,  every  spring;  and  the  next  year,  when  the  young 
plants  are  covered  with  fohage,  they  may  be  mowed 
in  the  same  manner  that  farmers  mow  small  shrubs, 
and  given  to  the  \vorms.  These  mowings  may  be 
repeated  until  the  stock  becomes  exhausted,  when  the 
land  must  be  seeded  again.  During  one  season  the 
same  seedlings  will  bear  to  be  mown  thrice,  and  on 
ditierent  portions  of  the  ground,  the  mowing  may  be 
daily  continued  according  to  the  demand  for  the  crop, 
except  after  very  dry  weather. 

The  advantages  of  this  method  are,  1.  The  leaves 
are  gathered  with  little  expense  or  labour.  2.  The 
same  area  of  ground  will  produce  more  foliage. 
3,  The  making  of  silk  may  thus  be  commenced  on 
the  first  year.  4.  Tenants,  as  well  as  owners,  from 
year  to  year,  can  secure  a  yearly  crop  of  silk ;  and 
the  quantity  can  be  increased  or  diminished  as  occa- 
sion requires. 

Transplanting.  On  this  subject,  authors  do  not 
precisely  agree,  and  are  generally  wanting  in  that 
method  which  will  be  found  necessary  in  this  place. 
For  the  sake  of  distinction,  we  shall  divide  this  section 
into  what  refers — 1.  To  the  seed  bed ;  2.  To  the  mir- 
sery  :  3.  To  the  hedge;  4.  To  the  dwarf  orchard ; 
5.  To  the  hedge  plantation ;  and  6.  To  the  plan- 
tation for  standards. 

1.  By  THE  SEED  BED  wc  mcau  that  on  which  not 
only  the  young  seedlings'*  or  plants  from  seeds,  are 
growing,  but  where  they  have  suffered  no  transplant- 
ing, nor  other  disturbance,  except  that  of  being  kept 
clear  from  weeds,  and  of  the  culture,  already  de- 
scribed, subsequent  to  sowing.  From  the  seed  bed, 
according  to  the  time  and  manner  hereafter  to  be 
stated,  the  seedlings  are  to  be  transplanted  either  to 
the  nursery,  the  hedge,  the  dwarf  orchard,  or  to  the 
plantation  for  standards,  according  to  the  design  and 
intention  of  the  culturist. 

•  The  term  seedling  will  in  this  work  be  applied  to  young  trees 
raised  from  seed,  and  not  transplanted ;  and  that  for  any  age  not  ex- 
ceeding three  years. 

14* 


162  THE    MULBERRY   TREE. 

Seedlings  are  fit  for  transplanting  when  they  attain 
the  height  of  eighteen  inches;  and  generally  on  the 
second  year,  those  not  removed  before,  may  be  trans- 
planted in  the  nursery.  When  the  seedlings  are  taken 
up  it  should  be  with  such  care  as  to  prevent  injury 
to  the  roots.  After  this,  it  would  be  an  advantage  to 
assort  them  into  classes,*  planting  those  nearly  of  a 
size  together.  But,  if  they  are  thrifty,  they  may  remain 
in  the  seed  bed  until  planted  out  into  hedges.  It  is, 
however,  indispensable,  when  the  seedlings  are  in- 
tended for  standard  trees,  to  remove  them  to  a  nur- 
sery, where  they  may  more  rapidly  attain  a  larger 
growth  than  they  would  in  the  seed  bed ;  and  from 
thence  they  should  not  be  removed  to  be  placed  out 
permanently  for  standards  until  they  are  one  inch  in 
diameter,  and  from  four  to  eight  feet,  according  to 
the  French,  or  from  seven  to  eight  feet  high,  accord- 
ing to  the  practice  with  us. 

2.  By  THE  NURSERY  We  intend  ground  purposely 
prepared  and  reserved  for  the  reception  and  growth 
of  young  plants,  into  which  the  young  seedlings,  at 
the  proper  time,  are  to  be  transplanted,!  and  there  to 
remain,  at  proper  distances,  during  the  second  period 
of  their  existence. 

Horticulturists  recommend  a  rich  soil  for  the  nur- 
sery ;  the  ground  at  least  should  be  previously  pre- 
pared, as  for  any  other  crop.  In  April,  or  later,  if 
there  be  a  probability  of  the  return  of  frost,  parallel 
furrows  are  to  be  made  of  sufficient  depth,  eight  feet 
asunder.  In  which,  as  soon  as  possible  after  remov- 
ing from  the  seed  bed,  and  taking  away  the  ragged 
roots,  as  well  as  shortening  the  tap  root,  in  order  to 
force  out  lateral  roots,  the  seedlings  must  be  planted, 
one  foot  apart  in  the  rows.  Particular  attention  must 
be  given  to  preserve  all  the  small  branches  of  the 
roots  from  contact  as  much  as  possible.  The  earth  is 
then  to  be  well  trodden  around  the  plant.   Afterwards 

•  Two  classes  :  Count  Hazzi. 

■j-  In  France,  they  transplant  just  after  the  fall  of  the  lea£ 


THE    MULP.ERRT   TREE.  163 

keep  the  soil  open,  free  from  weeds,  and  water  in  dry 
seasons. 

When  the  plants  in  the  nursery  are  sprung,  strip 
off  the  side  buds,  and  leave  none  but  such  as  are  ne- 
cessary to  form  the  head  of  the  tree.  The  buds  which 
are  left,  should  be  opposite  to  one  another.  If  the 
plants  in  the  nursery  do  not  shoot  well  the  first  year, 
in  the  month  of  March  following  cut  them  over,  about 
seven  inches  from  the  ground ;  this  will  make  them 
grow  rapidly.  They  should  also  be  watered  with 
dikited  barn-yard  water.* 

3.  Mulberry  HEDGE.  One  method  of  turning  into 
direct  profit,  and  economizing  the  very  ground  on 
which  our  fences  stand,  is  to  turn  them  into  mulberry 
hedges.  "The  white  mulberry,"  says  Mr.  Cobb, 
*'  forms  an  excellent  live  fence,  and  when  once  esta- 
blished, is  probably  the  most  permanent  of  any  other. 
Cattle  must  not  be  allowed  free  access  to  the  hedge 
while  young,  as  they  would  destroy  it  altogether;  but 
after  it  has  become  a  good  fence,  they  may  approach 
it  with  advantage.  The  more  it  is  broken  and  lace- 
rated by  cattle,  the  more  impenetrable  it  will  become; 
as  for  every  branch  broken,  a  half  dozen  shoots  will 
immediately  start  out,  till  the  bush  forms  a  perfect 
bramble."  This  mode  is,  therefore,  recommended  as 
accomplishing  three  important  objects  :  supplying 
food  for  silk  worms ;  keeping  the  trees  low,  that  the 

*  Several  of  the  manipulations  recommended  by  Count  de  Hazzi,  on 
this  subject,  are  worthy  of  attention.  "  The  roots  of  a  plant  of  one  year 
being  yet  delicate,  it  will  be  better  to  put  them  in  the  ground  with  a 
planting  stick,  along  a  line,  than  with  a  shovel.  They  should  be  planted 
a  Utile  deeper  than  they  were  before ;  for  a  mould  recently  stirred  sinks 
somewhat,  and  the  seedlings  would,  therefore,  be  too  high  above  ground. 
They  should  be  watered  as  soon  as  transplanted,  in  order  to  bring  the 
earth  into  closer  contact  with  the  root.  These  beds  must  be  managed, 
during  the  summer,  Uke  the  seed  beds,  viz.  they  must  be  cleared  of 
weeds,  and  watered  in  dry  weather ;  and,  before  the  winter  comes  on, 
they  must  be  covered  again  with  dry  leaves,  several  inches  in  depth, 
which  are  to  be  removed  in  the  spring.  Before  the  seedlings  begin  to 
bud,  all  the  wood  affected  by  the  frost  must  be  cut  off,  and  the  ground 
ought  to  be  carefully  opened  and  stirred,  without  injuring  the  roots  of  the 
seedlings." 


164  THE    MULBERKT    TREE. 

leaves  may  be  gathered  from  the  ground  by  children; 
and  furnishing  a  good  and  ahuost  never  ending  fence. 

Take  seedHngs  two  years  old  from  the  seed  bed, 
and  set  them,  in  the  spring,  at  the  distance  of  eighteen 
inches  apart,  or,  if  it  is  intended  to  make  a  thick  set 
hedge,  at  the  distance  of  one  foot.  Cut  off  the  tops 
at  four  or  six  inches  from  the  ground,  leaving  two 
buds  on  each  plant,  opposite  each  other,  and  removing 
all  the  rest.  This  causes  the  stock  to  have  two 
vigorous  branches  the  first  year.  The  next  spring, 
cut  off  one  of  these  two  branches  on  the  same  side, 
at  about  twelve  inches  from  the  ground,  in  such  a 
manner  that  each  plant  may  have  a  long  and  a  short 
one.  Cut  horizontally  on  the  same  side,  also  one  after 
another,  all  the  branches,  and  fasten  them  with  cords 
or  withes,  so  that  they  form  lines  parallel  with  the 
earth,  and  leave  the  entire  branches  untouched.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  third  year,  the  plants  will 
have  branches  to  form  a  hedge.  The  height,  form, 
&c.  of  which  may  be  regulated  according  to  the  fancy 
of  the  cultivator,  by  cutting  the  branches  accordingly, 
and  feeding  the  silk  worms  with  them. 

Some  permit  trees  to  grow  up  from  the  hedges  as 
standards,  at  the  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  feet  from 
each  other.  Thus  rails  might  be  fastened  to  the 
standards  and  form  alone  a  good  fence,  even  if,  in  the 
course  of  time,  the  old  materials  of  the  hedge  should 
have  been  removed,  or  fallen  into  decay. 

4.  The  dwarf  orchard.  The  dwarf  orchard, 
either  consists  of  the  dwarf  or  bush  mulberry,  so  com- 
mon in  France  ;  or  of  any  mulberry  species  or  variety 
kept  in  hedge  size  and  cultivation. 

As  to  the  dwarf  orchard  and  miilherry ,  we  are 
informed  by  M.  de  la  Brousse,  that  "  the  dwarf  or 
bush  mulberry  has  been  cultivated  for  ages  in  the 
East  Indies.  It  is  there  preferred  to  the  tree  with  a 
high  trunk, because  its  leaves  are  more  easily  gathered, 
the  trimming  less  difficult  and  less  expensive,  and  the 
sap  having  a  shorter  distance  to  rise,  produces  earlier 
leaves,  and  proportionably  in   greater  abundance. 


THE    MULBERRY   TREE.  165 

The  tree  with  a  lofty  trunk  must  have  a  good  soil  and 
ample  room,  whilst  the  dwarf  trees  will  grow  any- 
where, on  an  arid  soil  and  small  space.  Extending 
their  branches  very  little,  they  may  be  reached  on  all 
sides.  They  also  yield  an  early  leaf,  and  full  as 
wholesome  for  the  silk  worm  as  that  of  the  high  tree. 

The  grafted  dwarf  mulberry  of  good  kinds,  such 
as  la  rose,  putting  forth  as  early  as  the  pourette,  is  a 
valuable  resource  in  a  warm  climate,  where  silk 
worms  succeed  only  when  they  are  raised  before  the 
more  vehement  heat  sets  in. 

The  field  selected  for  an  orchard  of  the  dwarf  mul- 
berry ought  to  be  ploughed,  and  after  remaining  in 
the  furrow  about  two  months,  to  be  manured  and 
cross-ploughed,  and  lastly  levelled  with  a  harrow. 
Lines  must  then  be  drawn  nine  feet  apart  through 
the  whole  length  of  the  field,  and  the  young  trees 
must  be  planted  along  those  lines  at  the  distance  of 
six  feet  from  each  other.  Frequent  tillage,  manure 
every  year,  and  watering  in  dry  seasons  are  requisite 
particularly  during  the  first  years  of  their  growth. 
The  hoe  may  be  employed,  if  the  plough  cannot,  since 
their  stems  are  so  short  as  to  send  forth  branches 
within  a  foot  of  the  soil. 

After  the  gathering  of  the  leaves  in  the  third  year, 
the  dwarf  mulberry  may  be  trimmed,  but  not  before. 
Then  it  will  be  necessary  to  leave  four  branches  at 
proper  distance  towards  each  of  the  cardinal  points, 
in  order  that  they  may  form,  in  the  three  succeeding 
years,  the  head  of  the  tree.  At  the  end  of  that  term, 
each  tree  will  nearly  touch  its  neighbour,  and  ought 
every  following  vear  to  be  pruned  immediately  after 
the  gathering  of  the  leaves.  This  trimming,  amongst 
the  French,  consists  in  lopping  off  the  branches  that 
have  yielded  leaves  during  three  years,  and  reserving 
the  wood  of  the  preceding  and  of  the  current  years. 
The  height  of  the  trunk  of  a  dwarf  being  regulated  at 
a  foot,  and  its  branches  spreading,  in  the  second  year, 
about  two  feet  and  a  half  in  all  directions,  they  would 


166  THE    MITLBERRY    TREE. 

be  within  the  reach  of  the  smallest  cattle,  which  must 
therefore  be  carefully  excluded. 

But  the  dwarf  orchard  may  consist  of  any  of  the 
varieties  of  the  black,  red,  or  white  mulberry,  pro- 
vided that  they  are  kept  in  dwarf  cultivation.  This 
method  is  well  adapted  for  this  country,  and  recom- 
mended because,  1.  The  trees  thus  arrive  to  a  state 
of  productiveness  with  comparatively  little  expense 
of  time  and  labour.  2.  Suflicient  sun  and  air  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  trees  to  render  the  leaves  of  the  first 
quality,  and  to  enable  them  to  put  forth  early.  3.  The 
ground  is  more  suddenly  and  completely  filled  and 
occupied  than  by  planting  standards.  4.  The  trees 
are  more  easily  managed,  and  their  form  controlled. 
5.  The  leaves  are  more  easily  gathered,  and  very 
readily  by  women  and  children.* 

It  has  been  recommended  to  have  the  rows  of  the 
dwarf  orchard  sufficiently  distant  to  allow  a  horse  and 
cart  to  pass  between,  to  convey,  during  the  gathering, 
the  leaves  with  the  greater  expedition  to  the  cocoon- 
ery. Mr.  Roberts  objects  to  this,  because  the  pressure 
of  the  horse  and  cart  on  the  intervening  space  might 
be  such  as  to  injure  the  vegetation  of  the  trees.  To 
avoid  which  he  recommends  that  the  leaves  should 
be  gathered  into  large  baskets,  and  conveyed  to  a 
cart  conveniently  situated  ;  or  rather,  that  light  hand 
carts  propelled  by  men  should  be  substituted. 

Over  ground  duly  prepared,  as  before  directed,  extend 
parallel  lines,  in  number  sufficient  to  cover  the  whole 
breadth,  eight  feet  asunder.  Along  these  lines,  whilst 
kept  straight,  at  the  distance  of  two  feet  apart,  dig 
cavities  for  the  reception  of  the  plants,  into  which 
cast  some  good  rich  mould ;  where  the  seedlings  of 
two  years  old  are  to  be  transplanted,  and  the  earth 

*  In  India  and  Persia,  the  dwarf  orchards  are  not,  for  the  above  rea- 
Bons,  suffered  to  rise  above  eight  feet.  At  Broossa,  in  Turkey,  they  are 
planted  within  three  feet  of  each  other  in  rows  not  exceeding  ten  feet 
asunder ;  and  always  so  pruned  that  a  man  standing  on  the  ground  may 
reach  the  top. 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  167 

immediately  pressed  around  them.  The  young  trees 
are  to  be  headed  to  about  a  foot  from  the  ground, 
and  but  two  or  three  branches  allowed  to  grow. 
These,  by  pruning,  are  made  to  diverge,  continually 
sub-dividing  in  every  direction  above  the  horizontal, 
so  that  every  part  of  the  tree  be  duly  filled  with 
young  wood  and  leaves.  Suffer  no  vertical  shoot  to 
rise  in  the  centre,  and  curtail  all  straggling  shoots 
near  the  top,  and  all  pendulous  shoots  below.  The 
tree  is  not  to  be  suffered  to  spread  wider  than  about 
two  feet,  towards  the  wide  or  middle  space,  and  the 
rows  must  ever  be  preserved  within  four  and  a  half 
feet  in  width  and  about  ten  feet  in  height.  The 
ground  in  this  way,  may  be  cultivated  with  other 
various  productions,  especially  during  the  first  years. 
Indeed,  it  has  been  recommended  by  some,  to  give 
to  the  ground  applied  to  dwarf  orchards  or  hedge 
plantations,  the  benefit  of  meliorating  crops,  because 
the  soil,  according  to  this  opinion,  becomes  improved, 
and  the  intervening  crops  defray  all  expenses  in  the 
culture  of  the  mulberry.* 

*  On  this  subject,  we  cannot  quote  a  better  authority  than  that  of 
Mr.  Goodrich,  president  of  the  Hartford  County  Silk  Society.  "  I  ad- 
vise you  to  set  the  rows  of  mulberry  trees  at  the  distance  of  eight  feel. 
This  will  allow  sufficient  space  io  plough  between  the  rows  with  a  yoke 
of  oxen,  or  to  pass  between  them,  luith  a  one  home  wagon,  when  the 
trees  are  considerably  grown. 

"  I  would  transplant  the  trees  when  they  are  one  or  two  years  old, 
and  set  them  in  the  rows  originally  at  the  distance  of  two  feet.  They 
will  grow  for  two  or  tliree  years  within  two  feet  of  each  other.  You 
will  then  have  more  than  2700  trees  on  an  acre. 

"  It  is  important  that  the  young  plants  should  be  hoed  and  cultivated 
for  a  few  years,  with  as  much  care,  as  is  usually  bestowed  on  carrots  or 
onions ;  and,  in  order  to  do  this  with  as  little  expense  as  possible,  po- 
tatoes, beans,  or  ruta  baga,  may  be  planted  between  the  rows.  And 
when  the  potatoes  are  hoed,  all  the  weeds  around  the  mulberry  trees  must 
be  carefully  destroyed. 

"When  the  trees  are  three  or  four  years  old,  and  have  begun  to  spread 
and  fill  the  ground,  I  would  thin  them  out,  by  digging  up  and  trans- 
planting every  other  tree.  Experience  will  enable  you  to  decide  at 
what  time  this  is  proper  to  be  done. 

"  I  ought  to  have  added  above,  that  potatoes  should  be  between  the 
rows,  well  manured ;  so  that  the  whole  groimd  may  be  rich  like  a 
garden. 


168.  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

There  are  some  who,  both  for  the  purpose  of  stir- 
ring the  soil  and  keeping  it  Hght,  between  the  rows 
of  the  young  trees,  as  well  as  that  of  defraying,  during 
the  first  years,  the  expense  of  planting  and  trimming 

"  I  observed  the  last  year,  that  the  young  mulberry  trees  grew  as  well 
where  potatoes  were  planted  between  the  rows,  as  where  they  were 
omitted. 

"  I  would  begin  to  prune  the  young  trees  \he  first  year,  and  continue 
it  every  year.  Observing  to  cut  off  all  sprouts  which  grow  near  the 
ground  ;  no  leaves  ought  to  be  suffered  to  grow  nearer  than  two  or  three 
feet  to  the  ground.  The  earlier  you  begin  to  prune,  the  easier  it  will  be 
to  form  good  trees,  and  the  more  rapidly  they  will  grow. 

"  The  second  year  I  would  begin  to  make  silk  of  the  twigs  which  are 
trimmed  off.  If  the  trees  have  been  properly  cultivated  from  the  begin- 
ning, I  think  you  may  make  silk  enough  the  second  year,  to  pay  all  the 
expense  of  making  the  silk  and  of  cultivating  the  trees  that  year.  The 
principal  object,  however,  ought  to  be,  not  to  make  silk  the  second  year, 
but  to  cultivate  the  trees  in  the  most  judicious  manner.  I  would,  there- 
fore, advise,  that  for  the  two  or  three  first  years,  the  trees  should  be 
trimmed,  and  the  leaves  gathered,  only  by  persons  who  know  how  to 
trim  the  trees  properly. 

"  When  the  trees  arefonr  w  five  years  old,  at  which  time  they  will 
be  six  or  eight  feet  high,  I  propose  to  gather  leaves  for  the  worms,  by 
cutting  off  twigs  or  small  branches,  which  may  be  done  by  a  person 
standing  on  the  ground,  still  observing  to  trim  the  trees  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  will  best  promote  their  growth.  At  Mansfield,  in  this  state,  the 
leaves  have  usually  been  stripped  with  the  hand  from  the  branches,  and 
the  person  who  gathers  them  is  obliged  to  climb  trees  thirty  or  forty  feet 
high.  I  propose  to  save  this  labour,  in  a  great  measure,  by  trimming 
and  heading  down  the  trees  from  year  to  year,  so  that  they  shall  not 
grow  more  than  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
leaves  may  always  be  gathered  by  a  person  standing  on  the  ground.  In 
this  manner,  leaves  are  gathered  in  Persia  and  in  the  vicijiity  of  Con- 
stantinople. 

"  The  leaves,  or  rather  branches,  are  to  be  conveyed  to  the  cocoonery, 
in  one  horse  wagons,  and  you  will  now  see  the  propriety  of  leaving  the 
rows  sufficiently  apart  for  wagons  to  pass  between  them.  I  propose 
also  to  gather  the  leaves  or  branches  in  large  baskets  of  a  proper  shape, 
adapted  to  the  wagons.  I  suppose  that  one  man  with  a  wagon,  will 
carry  these  baskets  of  leaves  to  the  cocoonery  as  fast  as  a  number  can 
fill  them. 

"  I  found  the  last  year,  that  leaves  which  grew  near  the  ground  were 
covered  with  sand  or  dirt,  thrown  upon  them  during  showers  of  rain  ; 
and  it  was  necessary  to  clean  them  thoroughly,  before  they  were  given 
to  the  worms.  The  labour  of  doing  this  was  about  equal  to  that  of 
gathering  the  leaves.  This  suggested  the  propriety  of  trimming  up  the 
young  plant  from  the  beginning,  so  that  no  leaves  should  grow  near  the 
ground. 

"  I  omitted  to  mention  that  the  potatoes  which  may  be  grown  the  first 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  169 

the  orchard,  before  it  is  directly  productive,  recom- 
mend the  culture,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  subjoined 
note  of  intermediate  crops.  It  is,  however,  proper  to 
state  here  the  opposite  opinion.  We  add  that  ex- 
pressed by  M.  de  la  Brousse,  since  it  comprises  much 
under  the  head  of  subsequent  culture.  After  re- 
commending as  to  standard  trees,  between  rows,  two 
dressings  of  manure,  a  year,  he  says,  "  It  is  almost 
an  unpardonable  sin  to  sow  or  plant  a  piece  of  land 
covered  with  the  mulberry  of  high  growth ;  but  it 
would  be  an  act  still  more  inexcusable  to  sow  with 
grain,  or  with  that  of  any  other  produce,  an  orchard 
of  these  useful  trees  newly  set.  Though  the  ground 
be  not  wholly  covered,  and  but  partially  shaded  with  * 
these  small  trees,  yet  any  grain,  roots,  or  grass,  would 
exhaust  the  soil,  retard  the  activity  of  the  sap,  and 
obstruct  the  expansion  of  every  part  of  the  tree. 
Nemo  duobus*  is  a  maxim  so  true  in  agriculture,  that 
every  proprietor,  who  has  attempted  to  take  at  the 
same  time  two  full  crops  from  the  same  land,  has 
unwisely  exhausted  the  soil,  and  finally  diminished 
his  income.  By  manuring  well  our  fields,  and  re- 
quiring but  one  crop  at  a  time,  we  shall  make  better 
harvests,  and  receive  a  better  rent."  Mr.  Vernon, 
the  translator,  adds,  "  the  whole  of  this  ought  to  at- 
tract the  notice  of  the  farmers  of  our  own  country. 
For  it  is  the  general  usage  with  them,  to  take  a  crop 
of  grain,  of  roots,  or  of  grass  from  their  orchards. 
This  custom,  so  inconsistent  with  sound  reason,  added 
to  their  careless  treatment  of  the  trees,  is  the  cause 
of  that  infertility  of  which  we  hear  them  so  often 
complain  ;   and   it  also  very  materially  affects  the 


year,  between  rows  of  seedlings,  will,  as  I  think,  pay  for  settling  out 
and  cultivating  the  plants  that  year.  When  the  mulberry  trees  have 
grown  to  a  considerable  size,  and  the  roots  have  filled  the  ground,  it 
may,  perhaps,  be  advisable  to  discontinue  planting  potatoes  between 
the  rows,  as  the  roots  of  the  trees  would  be  impaired  by  ploughing  the 
land." 

*  M.  de  la  Brousse  means,  of  course,  "  No  soil  for  two  crops,"  whether 
ntmo  be  classically  applicable  to  any  thing  inanimate  or  not. 

15 


170  THE    MULBERRY   TREE. 

quality  of  the  leaves  and  fruit.  At  Montreuil,  a  vil- 
lage of  nearly  20,000  inhabitants,  all  maintained  by 
the  cultivation  of  fruit  for  the  supply  of  the  city  of 
Paris,  a  proprietor  will  not  allow  even  a  plant  of  let- 
tuce to  be  grown  near  fruit  trees.  Every  particle  of 
the  surface  of  the  ground  is  there  kept  in  a  friable 
state  to  the  full  extent  of  the  roots  of  the  trees;  a  due 
proportion  of  manure  is  every  year  worked  into  the 
soil,  the  art  of  trimming  is  there  perfectly  understood 
and  practised ;  and  there  we  never  hear  the  barbarous 
assertion  that  the  apple  tree  bears  lucll  only  once  in 
two  or  three  years.'''' 

5.  The  making  of  hedge  plantations  is  now  also 
recommended.  It  consists  of  a  piece  of  ground,  not 
only  fenced  in,  but  its  whole  interior  planted  with 
mulberries  in  regular  rows  at  certain  distances  kept 
in  hedge  culture.  A  plan  which  will  be  found  con- 
venient during  the  leaf-gathering  season ;  especially 
for  children. 

It  was  formerly  the  practice  in  France  to  plant  out 
the  mulberry  as  standards,  and  to  suffer  them  to 
attain  a  considerable  size,  for  which  gathering  lad- 
ders and  additional  labour  were  indispensable.  The 
practice  is  of  late  much  changed.  It  was  observed, 
says  Rozier,  that  the  young  plants  in  nurseries,  put 
forth  their  leaves  much  sooner  than  the  standard  trees; 
and  the  necessity  of  obtaining  early  food  for  the  young 
insects  obliged  the  cultivators  to  provide  themselves 
with  a  certain  number  of  mulberries  in  the  bush, 
shrubby,  or  hedge  state. 

From  these  first  experiments  arose  the  prevalent 
practice  of  raising  dwarf  mulberries  extensively,  and 
also  of  surrounding  the  fields  with  mulberry  hedges. 
It  is  said  that  the  produce  of  an  acre  in  dwarf  mul- 
berries is  much  greater  than  one  in  large  trees,  the 
distance  between  the  plants  being  so  much  less,  so 
that  the  number  of  dwarfs  may  be  eight  times  as 
great.  This  is  admitted  to  be  true  at  first,  though  some 
cultivators  deny  that  it  continues  to  be  so  after  the 
standard  trees  have  attained   their  full  size.     But 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  171 

whether  the  increase  of  the  foliage  of  the  full  grown 
standards  is  such  over  that  of  eight  times  the  number 
of  dwarfs,  as  to  countervail  the  additional  expense  in 
the  gathering  of  the  former,  is  a  question,  that  expe- 
riment, fairly  conducted,  alone  can  decide. 

In  India,  in  China,  in  Turkey,  and,  at  present,  in 
France,  hedge  or  dwarf  plantations  are  most  highly 
approved ;  and  the  system  is  gaining  ground  also  in 
Italy  and  Belgium..  JNI.  Bonafoux,  the  celebrated 
writer  on  silk,  and  the  disciple  of  that  '■^facile  Prin- 
ceps^'  of  silk  ivorms,  Count  Dandolo,  and  the  director 
of  the  Royal  Gardens  of  Turin,  highly  recommends  this 
mode,  of  cultivating  in  inxdberry  prairies,  as  in  China. 

Dr.  Tinelli*  says,  "  this  method  is  now  generally 
adopted  in  Italy.  1.  Because  the  produce  of  the  little 
mulberry  is  much  earlier  than  that  of  the  large  one ; 
for  in  the  third  year  they  begin  to  gather  the  leaves 
from  hedge  rows,  while  six  years  are  required  before 
we  can  strip  the  large  trees.  2.  Because  the  low 
trees,  being  more  immediately  affected  by  the  warmth 
of  the  soil,  begin  to  put  forth  their  \&?ives  fifteen  days 
earlier  than  the  larger  ones,  which  is  certainly  a 
great  advantage.  3.  The  care  of  low  trees  and  the 
gathering  of  the  leaves  are  left  to  children,  which  is 
a  considerable  saving  of  expense.  The  trees  of  low 
size,  planted  in  hedge  rows,  occupy  the  least  possible 
space,  while  at  the  same  time  they  supply  a  crop  as 
perfect  as  those  of  a  greater  height,  and  their  leaves, 
extremely  agreeable  to  the  worms,  furnish  a  silk  of 
the  first  quality." 

Of  hedge  plantations,  there  are  tiuo  plans.  The 
FIRST  PLAN  we  havc  thus  well  described  by  Seignor 
Tinelli :  "  For  the  purpose  of  making  plantations  of 
this  kind,  young  trees  of  one  year's  growth  are  used. 
The  hedges  are  planted  in  lines,  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  field,  and  the  lines  (or  rows)  separated 
from  each  other  by  a  space  of  six  feetA     Each  tree 

•  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  of  the  University  of  Pavia. 
f  "  Eight  feet."     Silk  Cul.  vol.  ii.  p.  181,  col.  1,  gi\-ing  2000  trees  to 
the  acre. 


172  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

is  planted  at  the  distance  of  three  feet  from  the  next 
in  the  same  row.  So  that  in  the  space  of  an  acre, 
or  43,560  square  feet,  toe  shall  have  2420  of  these 
trees.  They  will  yield,  in  their  third  year,  about 
2  lbs.  of  leaves  each;  {or  4840  lbs.  fur  the  acre;)  and 
this  quantity  will  be  doubled  annually,  till  the  eighth 
year,  provided  they  are  cultivated,  attended  to,  and 
managed  as  required." 

The  above  statement  of  Seignor  Tinelli  leads  to  the 
following  statistical  consequence ;  the  trees  on  one 
acre  for  the 

3d  year  yield. . . .  4,840  lbs.  of  leaves, 
4th  year  yield. . . .  9,680  lbs.  of  leaves. 
5th  year  yield. . . .  19,3G0  His.  of  leaves, 
6th  year  yield. . . .  38,720  lbs.  of  leaves, 
7th  year  yield. . . .  77,440  lbs.  of  leaves. 
8th  year  yield 154,880  lbs.  of  leaves ! 

Which  in  this  case,  on  the  eighth  year,  would  be 
equal  to*  1548  lbs.  of  silk,  worth  g7740.t 

Although  the  young  trees  when  planted,  are  fur- 
nished with  very  small  roots,  yet  it  is  necessary  to 
dig  the  trench  made  to  receive  them  of  considerable 
depth.  It  is  usual  to  make  it  one  foot  and  a  half 
deep,  and  of  the  same  breadth.    When  the  little  trees 

*  100  lbs.  of  leaves  of  the  white  mulberry  are  reckoned  to  be  equal  to 
one  pound  of  raw  silk,  now  worth  at  least  five  dollars. 

■\  The  above  statement  of  Dr.  Tinelli  we  have  given,  merely  to  show 
how  extravagantly  great  men — men  who  are  looked  up  to  as  great  au- 
thority, will  wander  into  the  regions  of  fancy  when  they  are  supposed 
to  be  furnishing  facts.  It  must  be  obvious  to  all  that  the  quotation 
above,  and  the  subsequent  statement  legitimately  drawn  from  it^  are 
erroneous.  But  much  of  what  is  written  on  this  subject,  is  not  any 
thing  more  accurate ;  and  if  we  advert  to  the  widely  divergent  state- 
ments made  by  authors  in  our  own  country,  upon  the  culture  and  pro- 
duce of  the  mulberry  tree,  we  need  not  be  surprised  that  such  things 
come  from  abroad.  One  tells  us,  that  the  mulberry  tree  should  be 
planted  on  high,  another  on  luw,  ground ;  one  on  a  south,  another  on  a 
7wrth  exposure;  this  one  on  stony,  grnrel/i/  soil,  that  on  sandy  h>ani  ,• 
the  next  on  any  soil  that  will  produce  vegetation,  the  opposite  excludes 
us  from  almost  any  soil  that  can  be  procured.  These  unsettled  and 
uncertain  opinions  remind  us  of  the  Scripture  phrase,  '■  If  the  trumpet 
give  an  uncertain  sound,  who  shall  prepare  himself  for  the  battle  V 
In  these  pages  we  shall  present  a  better  view  of  these  subjects,  with 
more  certain  data. 


THE    MULBERRY   TREE.  173 

are  set  in  the  ground,  the  stems  are  cut  so  as  to  leave 
only  three  eyes  above  the  ground. 

The  SECOND  PLAN  of  the  hedge  plantatinn,  and 
also  its  cultivation,  is  best  described  by  Mr.  Roberts. 
"  At  two  years  old,  the  plants  may  be  planted  out 
into  hedges,  at  eighteen  inches  apart,  in  rows  eight 
feet  asunder.  The  ground  should  be  prepared  as 
before  directed,  and  some  good  rich  mould  put  into 
the  holes,  to  be  afterwards  pressed  around  the  plants. 
Take  care  that  the  two  lowest  buds  be  in  the  direction 
of  the  (gardening)  line ;  which  should  be  drawn 
straight.  The  plant  is  to  be  cut  down  to  these  two 
buds,  about  half  a  foot  from  the  ground.  By  the 
ensuing  spring  these  buds  will  have  become  two 
beautiful  branches,  when  one  of  them  is  to  be  pruned 
down  to  one  foot,  and  always  on  one  side  of  the 
plant.  The  branches  on  the  opposite  side  to  be  left 
uncut,  but  to  be  bent  in  the  direction  of  the  hedge 
towards  the  lopped  branches,  and  fastened  to  them 
with  willow  withs  so  as  to  form  an  arch.  The  third 
spring  the  plants  will  have  branches  to  form  a  hedge, 
when  they  must  be  cut  about  two  feet  from  the 
ground,  leaving  the  branches  below  that  point  entire. 
When  plants  die,  replace  them  by  layers  from  an 
adjoining  one,  as  the  introduction  of  new  plants  hardly 
ever  succeeds.  The  hedges  should  never  be  permitted 
to  grow  higher  than  six  feet,  so  as  to  keep  them  within 
a  convenient  height  for  gathering  the  leaves.  After 
the  leaves  have  been  gathered,  they  should  be  pruned, 
and  particularly  of  such  branches  as  may  have  been 
injured  or  killed.  All  dead  branches,  also,  thus  found 
in  the  beginning  of  April,  must  be  pruned  from  the 
living  wood,  with  sharp  hedge  shears,  and  these 
prunings  should  be  so  regulated  as  to  give  a  proper 
form  to  the  hedge." 

The  planting  of  morus  alba  in  the  hedge  form,  will  be 
found  to  be  the  most  advantageous.  The  same  quan- 
tity of  land  will  thus  produce  at  least  eighty  per  cent, 
more  leaves,  than  from  standard  trees ;  the  labour  of 
gathering  leaves  is  full  one  half  less,  and  the  vegeta- 
15* 


174  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

tion  is  much  quicker.  These  certainly  are  consider- 
ations worthy  of  attention.  A  few  standard  trees,  or 
^plantation  of  standards,  should  be  kept  on  every 
estate,  and  particularly  where  situated  in  the  interior, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  regular  supplies  of 
seed,  and  of  making  that  of  leaves  doubly  secure. 

6.  Plantation  for  standards  is  a  piece  of 
ground,  on  which,  at  proper  distances,  mulberry  trees, 
designed  to  arrive  at,  or  that  have  attained  to,  full 
growth,  are  planted. 

The  distances  generally  recommended  for  this  pur- 
pose are  twenty  feet  between  the  rows,  and  twenty 
feet  asunder,  i.  e.  twenty  feet  every  loay.  But  here 
the  quincunx  order  would  probably  be  an  improve- 
ment. That  is,  the  roAvs  twenty  feet  asunder  as  be- 
fore, and  the  trees  in  each  row,  twenty  feet  distant 
from  each  other,  but  each  tree  of  every  alternate  row 
placed  opposite  the  centre  or  middle  point  of  the 
nearest  two  trees  of  tlie  opposite  row ;  so  that  each 
tree  of  one  row  forms  an  isosceles  triangle  with  the 
two  nearest  trees  of  the  next  row.  An  advantage  is 
thus  gained  in  every  case,  where  between  two  op- 
posite trees  only  twenty  feet  would  intervene,  of  two 
feet  and  one-third,  both  for  the  extension  of  branches, 
and  the  freer  admission  of  both  sun  and  air. 

Let  then  this  piece  of  ground  intended  for  such  a 
plantation  be  first  described  into  hues  or  parallel 
rows,  twenty  feet  asunder,  on  each  of  which  rows 
dig  cavities  twenty  feet,  also  between  one  and  the 
other  on  the  same  row.  But  let  the  first  cavity  on 
the  second  row  be  dug  precisely  opposite  to  the  centre 
point  between  the  nearest  two  on  the  opposite  row  ; 
and  thus  continue  for  every  other  cavity  and  every 
other  row ;  and  we  shall  then  have  a  plantation  of  the 
quincunx  order.  This  quincuncial  order  derives  its 
name  from  the  numeral  V,  which  is  called  the  single 
quincunx;  and  the  numeral  X,  which  was  termed 
the  double  quincunx.  Of  all  arrangements,  the  quin- 
cunx order  combines  the  most  advantages.  More 
trees  may  thus  be  set  at  any  distance  apart  on  the 


THE    MULBEUUT   TREE.  175 

same  area  than  in  any  other  mode.  Each  tree  will 
have  the  same  proximity  to  its  neighbours  on  the 
same  row,  but  all  will  enjoy  superior  facilities  for  the 
admission  of  air,  heat,  and  light. 

The  land  where  the  trees  are  to  be  set,  will  be 
much  better  for  the  purpose,  if  previously  ploughed, 
harrowed,  and  manured  on  the  preceding  autumn. 
It  will  be  proper  to  transplant  only  handsome,  well- 
selected  subjects,  and  which  are  not  getting  too  old 
in  the  nursery,  crooked,  knotty,  or  mean  looking.  It 
would  be  desirable  to  ascertain  the  position  of  the 
plant  when  in  the  nursery  in  reference  to  the  south, 
which  may  be  easily  discovered,  even  when  sent  from 
a  distance,  by  the  magnitude  and  number  of  its  roots, 
which  are  generally  larger  and  more  numerous  on 
the  south  side  of  the  tree,  as  well  as  by  the  size  and 
distance  of  the  rings  which  form  at  the  forks  of  the 
branches.  Direcied  by  these  signs  the  tree  may  have 
the  same  side  turned  towards  the  south,  which  it  had 
before  its  removal,  by  turning  in  that  direction  the 
largest  roots  and  circles. 

The  transplanting  may  take  place  either  in  spt-in^, 
as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground,  or  in  autiunn 
at  the  fall  of  the  leaf  Not  a  tew  prefer  the  former 
season.  JNIr.  Gideon  Smith  of  Baltimore,  whose  judg- 
ment unquestionably  ranks  high,  gives  the  preference 
to  the  latter,  in  order  to  let  "  the  small  fibrous  roots 
which  convey  nourishment  to  the  tree,  have  time  to 
prepare  for  their  functions  by  the  vegetating  season 
of  the  next  spring."* 

When  the  plants  are  grown  to  the  size  of  onet  inch 

*  From  an  authority  so  respectable  as  Mr.  Smith,  however,  we  must 
heg  leave  to  dissent.  In  the  south  where  there  is  comparatively  no 
winter,  or  at  least  a  mild  one,  his  system  will  answer  very  well,  periiaps 
be  the  better  plan  ;  but  in  the  eastern  ami  middle  stales,  where  the  win- 
ters are  severe,  the  method  of  fall  planting,  recommended  above,  would 
be  exceedingly  questionable.  The  gain  would  not  be  so  great  as  to  put 
to  hazard  so  great  a  stake  where  the  seasons  are  so  rigid,  and  the  spring 
planting,  in  this  climate,  is,  we  think,  greatly  to  be  preferred. 

i  The  French  practice  directs,  six  inches  in  circumference  at  the 


176  THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 

in  diameter,  and  from  seven  to  eight  feet  high,  they 
are  fit  to  be  planted  out  into  the  field  where  they  are 
finally  to  remain.  Let  them  be  dug  up  without  injury 
to  the  roots,  and,  whenever  practicable,  transplant 
immediately,  or  soon  as  possible,  after  removal  from 
the  ground,  without  cutting  off  any  thing.*  When- 
ever the  planting  cannot  be  immediately  effected,  the 
roots  must  be  surrounded  with  straw  wrapped  around 
them. 

Let  each  cavity  for  the  reception  of  the  trees,  at 
the  distances  already  stated,  be  made  eighteen  inches 
deep,  and  Jive  feet  in  diameter  and  its  lower  part 
covered  with  a  few  inches  of  fresh  mould.  The 
young  tree  is  placed  in  its  proper  range,  ascertained 
hw  a  stake  fixed  at  each  extremity  of  the  line,  and  it 
is  to  be  held  there  till  its  roots  are  covered  with  friable 
and  well  manured  earth  free  from  stones,  which  must 
then  be  well  trodden  down,  and  watered  if  necessary.! 
A  small  furrow  left  round  the  stem  to  retain  the  rain 
is  very  proper. 

Leave  all  the  buds  which  the  young  trees  have 
pushed  out  on  the  top,  till  the  following  spring;  when 
none  are  to  be  left,  but  three  or  four  branches  to  form 
the  head  of  the  tree.  These  should  be  so  left  as  to 
form  a  circle  round  the  stem.  That  the  interior  of 
the  tree  may  be  kept  open,  all  buds  as  they  appear 
on  its  body  should  be  pinched  off  for  a  few  years. 
The  head  of  the  tree  also,  for  several  years,  should 
be  thinned  out,  cuttina;  off  such  branches  as  cross 


bottom  of  the  trunk,  and  from  six  to  nine  feet  in  height.  Others  say, 
the  plant  ought  not  to  be  more  than  three  years  old  when  taken  from  a 
rich  soil,  or  four  years  old,  if  removed  from  poor  land. 

*  Except  what  is  bruised  or  broken  just  above  the  defect.  Yet  some 
say  the  roots  should  be  trimmed. 

f  The  practice  in  France,  with  some,  is,  in  order  to  give  immediate 
activity  to  the  sap,  as  well  as  to  make  the  earth  on  all  sides  closely  ad- 
here to  the  roots,  to  pour  six  or  eight  gallons  of  water  into  the  cavity, 
which  is  then  filled  with  earth  to  the  surface.  But  the  season,  wet  or 
dry,  and  the  proprietor's  experience  and  discretion  will  vary  this  accord- 
ing to  circumstances. 


THE    MULBERRr    TREE.  177 

Others,  or  take  the  lead  of  the  rest :  equaHty  in  growth 
and  beauty  in  appearance  will  be  thus  preserved. 
Every  spring,  the  young  trees  should  be  dressed  two 
or  three  feet  around  the  trunk  ;  and  stakes  also  should 
be  placed  by  each,  and  fastened  to  it  at  the  time  of 
planting,  to  prevent  its  position  being  altered  by 
strong  winds. 

When  the  trees  shall  have  nearly  attained  their 
growth,  two  top  dressings  of  manure  a  year  will  pre- 
serve them  in  an  improved  condition.  The  first  may 
be  given  in  the  month  of  March,  or  the  time  of  the 
first  rising  of  the  sap  ;  when  after  hoeing,  they  ought 
to  be  treated  with  a  proper  quantity  of  manure.  The 
second  tillage  must  be  given  immediately  after  gather- 
ing the  leaves,  in  order  to  promote  the  August  growth, 
on  which  the  produce  of  the  following  year  so  much 
depends. 

Grafting  and  budding  are  methods  of  culture 
long  practised,  especially  in  Europe,  and  supposed  to 
improve  the  several  species  and  varieties  of  the  mul- 
berry. The  only  reasons  assigned  by  a  recent  writer 
to  warrant  the  neglect  here  of  these  methods,  is  be- 
cause with  us,  land  is  cheap  and  labour  high.  More 
weighty  and  decisive  reasons,  however,  than  these 
exist;  and  we  shall  find  them  most  strongly  expressed 
by  authors,  who  are  themselves  natives  of  the  coun- 
tries where  these  methods  have  been  the  longest  tried, 
and  through  the  current  of  imitative  custom,  not  in- 
vestigation, have  been  the  most  popular.  Count 
Dandolo  says,  "  fourteen  pounds  and  a  half  of  wild* 
mulberry  leaves  will  produce  one  and  a  half  pounds 
of  cocoons;  whilst  it  requires  twenty  pounds  and  three- 
fourths  of  the  leaves  of  the  grafted  mulberry  to  yield 
the  same  quantity."  Again,  "  Seven  and  a  half 
pounds  of  cocoons  proceeding  from  worms  fed  on  the 
leaves  of  the  wild  mulberry,  give  about  fourteen 
ounces  of  exceedingly  fine   silk;    whilst  the  same 

*  I.  e.  not  grafted. 


178  THE  MULBERRY  TREE. 

weight  of  silk  worms  fed  with  the  leaves  of  the 
grafted  mulberry  only  yields  eleven  or  twelve  ounces 
of  silk :  that  the  silk  worms  fed  on  the  wild  leaves 
are  always  brisker,  and  have  better  appetites."  M. 
Morin  informs  its,  that  "  the  mulberry  trees  not 
prrafted,  last  for  ages,*  whilst  the  grafted  after  twen- 
ty-five years  fall  into  decay."  No  other  additional 
reason  needs  be  assigned  for  the  entire  abolition,  in 
this  country  at  least,  of  grafting,  budding,  and  in- 
onilating,  of  such  vivacious  and  even  indigenous 
trees  as  mulberries,  than  that  the  superiority  of  the 
multicaulis,  for  which  no  such  process  is  necessary, 
is  now  so  far  decided,  as  to  render  attention  to  the 
engrafted  and  artificial  varieties,  so  far  quite  unne- 
cessary, that  a  page  or  pages  occupied  with  the  de- 
tail of  these  tedious  and  laboured  manipulations, 
would  be  at  once  a  misapplication  both  of  our  limits 
and  of  the  reader's  time  and  attention. 

Pruning.  Trees  left  to  themselves  are  liable  to 
assume  forms  as  unsuitable  to  the  taste  of  the  horti- 
culturist, as  they  are  inconvenient  to  those  engaged 
in  the  gathering  of  their  leaves.  June  is  the  best 
.seasoyi  for  pruning,  when  the  young  twigs  that  are 
taken  off  may  be,  with  advantage,  given  to  the 
worms.  But  after  what  has  been  already  said  on 
this  subject,  it  is  here  only  necessary  to  add,  that  the 
imperfections  in  the  form  and  growth  of  trees,  may 
easily  be  remedied  by  a  judicious  cultivator,  at  least 
once  every  two  or  three  years. 

Suckers.  Trees  may  also  be  obtained  from  suck- 
ers. These,  each  with  some  roots  attached  to  them, 
may  be  separated  from  the  tree  early  in  the  spring, 
planted  in  the  nursery  or  orchard,  tivo  feet  apart, 
where  they  may  remain  until  their  size  intimates  the 
propriety  of  transplanting.     They  must  be  treated  as 

*  The  black  mulberry  tree  adjoining  Greenwich  Park,  planted  in  the 
reign  of  James  the  I.,  now  covers  a  circumference  of  150  feet,  and  yields 
during  the  season  eighty  quarts  per  day  of  the  finest  mulberries  in 
England. 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE.  179 

seedlings  or  cuttings ;  watered  in  dry  weather  and 
kept  clear  of  weeds.  Though  the  white  mulberry 
admits  of  this  variety  in  its  mode  of  propagation,  yet 
no  method,  as  yet,  has  been  found  preferable  to  that 
of  reproducing  it  from  its  own  seed  or  fruit.  The 
modes  of  reproduction  from  cuttings  and  layers,  alike 
applicable  to  both  the  species  and  varieties  of  the 
mulberry,  are  so  particularly  suitable  to  the  hybrids, 
and  especially  to  the  multicaulis,  that  we  defer  what 
is  necessary  to  observe  on  these  subjects  to  the  next 
chapter. 

In  the  complete  silk  establishment,  the  nursery^ 
orchard,  and  plantation,  will  require  their  instru- 
ments ;  as  well  as  the  cocoonery  its  furniture  and 
uteiisils  ;  and  the  manufacture,  its  machinery.  In 
the  former  we  should  be  supplied  with  the  weeding 
hook,  pruning  cAwe/j',  and  ^Aear*  adapted  to  different 
parts  of  this  work,  and  suited  to  different  altitudes. 
For  the  plantation  for  full  grown  standards  there 
should  not  be  omitted  a  pair  of  pruning  shears  at- 
tached by  one  of  the  handles  to  a  ten  foot  pole,  which 
whilst  it  is  held  in  one  hand,  is  worked  by  means  of 
a  cord  passing  through  a  pulley,  and  attached  to  the 
other  handle  by  the  other  hand.  By  this  means  twigs 
and  branches,  though  at  the  height  of  seventeen  or 
eighteen  feet  are  taken  off  with  ease,  and  that  so 
smoothly  as  neither  to  lacerate  the  bark  nor  injure 
the  appearance  of  the  tree.  Hoes  also  will  be  neces- 
sary, particularly  one  adapted  to  the  mulberry  orchard 
culture  and  described  by  Messrs.  Ciieney  in  the  early 
numbers  of  the  Silk  Grower.  In  very  dry  seasons, 
the  proximity  of  a  pond,  or  one  in  the  midst  of  the 
plantation,  with  a  forcing  pump  and  hose  to  send  the 
water  to  every  part,  will  be  of  great  advantage. 

On  the  following  cut  will  be  found  a  representation 
of  the  M.  alba,  M.  tartarica,  and  M.  nigra.  The  M. 
alba  on  the  right,  the  M.  tartarica  in  the  centre,  and 
the  M.  nigra  on  the  left.  They  exliibit  the  leaves 
and  fruit  drawn  from  nature.  It  has  not  been  thought 
necessary  to  give  a  representation  of  the  other  species 


180 


THE    MULBERRY    TREE. 


under  this  head,  as  they  are  different  only  in  size  and 
in  few  pecuharities  of  the  leaves  which  have  been 
previously  described. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  MORUS  MULTICAULIS. 


It  is  now  universally  known  amongst  all  expe- 
rienced culturists,  that  the  morus  multicaulis  is  a 
hybrid ;  and  as  the  most  judicious  and  discerning^ 
amongst  them  think,  that  it  is  a  variety  produced 
from  the  morus  alba  and  niorus  nis^ra  ;  and  there- 
fore whilst  it  yields  silk  having  all  the  delicacy  of  the 
proceed  of  the  former,  combines  the  strength,  with- 
out the  comparative  coarseness  of  that  of  the  latter  ; 
and  consequently  is  in  itself  the  complete  "  utili 
dulceP  of  the  mulberry  tribe.  It  is  to  the  national- 
stirring  industry,  and  wealth-giving  properties  of  this 
tree,  that  the  disciples  of  Confucius  attribute  the 
prosperity  and  solidity  of  an  empire  that  knows  no 
parallel  on  the  face  of  this  earth.  It  came  here 
recently  as  a  stranger,  and  had  its  own  character  to 
substantiate  ;  but  with  it,  as  with  every  thing  of 
intrinsic  excellence,  this  was  soon  and  easily  eifected. 
In  its  favour,  the  verdict  of  the  well  known  culturist. 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  181 

Gideon  B.  Smith,  of  Baltimore,  has  been  quoted. 
"Whoever,"  says  he,  "is  desirous  of  entering  into 
the  silk  culture,  must  now  abandon  every  idea  of  culti- 
vating any  other  kind  than  this  ;  as  from  its  superior 
fitness,  in  every  respect,  to  the  feeding  of  the  worms, 
it  would  be  impossible  that  any  one  growing  any 
other  could  compete  with  those  who  fed  with  it. 
That  as  there  is  no  offal  from  coarse  fibres,  fully  one 
diird  of  the  labour  of  gathering  will  be  saved.  That 
the  leaves  of  the  multicaulis  yield  a  finer  silk,  more 
delicate  in  texture,  and  brilliant  in  gloss  than  any 
other  kind."  But  now,  independently  of  all  private 
opinion,  however  eminent,  by  experiment  and  matter 
of  fact,  a  thousand  times  repeated,  whether  they 
refer  to  the  possibility  of  its  acclimation  in  our  Chi- 
nese-parallel climes,  its  fitness  for  the  worms,  the 
immense  saving  of  labour  which  it  affords,  or  to  the 
superior  quality  of  its  produce,  its  fame  is  known 
and  acknowledged,  without  a  dissentient  voice,  from 
Maine  to  Louisiana,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Western  shores  of  the  Mississippi. 

As  an  object  of  public  attention,  it  is  now  one  of 
such  intense  interest,  that  inverted  must  be  the  tele- 
scope of  the  man  that  has  not  the  prescience  to  discern 
that  a  new  and  a  great  era  is  now  about  to  open  in 
this  country.  What  will  be  the  ultimate  benefits,  it  is 
now  impossible  to  calculate.  If  the  first  advantage 
accrue  to  an  individual,  it  extends  to  his  neighbour  and 
thence  to  a  third,  and  thus  on  in  the  great  catena  of 
society,  from  link  to  link,  till  the  individual  blesses 
the  nation,  and  by  reciprocity  the  nation  the  indivi- 
dual, until  national  prosperity  and  individual  con- 
tentment merge  party  and  comparatively  petty  dif- 
ferences into  an  equanimity,  that  may  leave  China 
herself  dispossessed  of  the  singularity,  in  this  respect, 
of  which  she  at  present  boasts.  As  such  it  would  be 
almost  impardonable,  in  a  work  of  this  nature,  not 
to  give,  even  as  a  tribute  of  gratitude,  the  history  of 
a  tree,  to  which  we  are  all  likely  to  become  so  much 
indebted. 

16 


182  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

The  first  complete  history  and  account  of  this 
plant  appeared  in  the  ''  Annales  d'Horticultnre/'  and 
the  "  Annales  Royal  Horticule  de  Fromont ;"  and 
were  afterwards  collected  and  inserted  by  the  Hon, 
H.  Dearborn  in  the  "New  England  Farmer"  of 
1830  and  1831.  From  which  it  appears  that  the 
honour  of  the  discovery  of  this  plant,  and  its  intro- 
duction to  Europe,  to  Africa,  and  to  America,  is  due 
to  M.  S.  Perrottet,  agricultural  botanist  and  traveller 
of  the  marine  and  colonies  of  France.  This  distin- 
guished botanist  was  sent  out  by  the  government  of 
France  on  a  voyage  of  research  to  the  seas  of  Asia, 
a  national  ship  having  been  provided  especially  for 
his  use.  After  an  absence  of  nearly  three  years  he 
returned  to  Havre  in  1821.  He  brought  with  him 
eighty-four  boxes  of  various  dimensions,  containing 
one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  species  of  living  plants, 
of  at  least  eight  feet  in  lieight,  to  the  quantity  of 
five  hundred  and  thirty-four  individuals.  All 
these  productions  had  been  procured  on  the  coasts 
of  Asia,  or  gathered  in  the  lands  of  Cayenne.  From 
the  commencement  of  the  present  century  there  had 
never  been  so  vast  an  importation  into  France,  or 
one  so  extensive  in  number,  and  at  the  same  time 
each  so  remarkable  for  rare  genera,  species  and  va- 
rieties. In  this  immense  collection  was  the  morns 
rmilticaulis,  thus  called  by  Perrottet  for  the  first 
time,  and  ascertained  by  him  to  be  the  real  Chinese 
mulberry ;  or  as  sometimes  improperly  called  the 
morus  alba  sinensis. 

It  was  in  descending  the  river  which  traverses  the 
city  of  Manilla,  the  capital  of  the  Philippine  islands, 
and  on  its  banks,  and  in  the  garden  of  a  Chinese 
cultivator,  that  M.  Perrottet  saw,  for  the  first  time, 
the  multicaulis.  It  was  there  that  he  first  found  it 
growing  with  a  vast  variety  of  other  precious  plants, 
which  had  there  been  collected  from  India,  from 
Ceylon,  from  Sumatra  and  from  China. 

The  multicaulis  appears  from  the  statements  of  M. 
Perrottet  to  have  originated  in  the  elevated  regions 


THE    MORUS    MTJLTICAULIS.  183 

of  China,  and  from  thence  to  have  been  disseminated 
over  all  the  plains  near  the  sea  shore.  It  was  intro- 
duced into  Manilla,  and  into  all  the  islands  in  the 
Asiatic  Archipelago,  from  Canton. 

The  morns  multicaulis  has  had  already  many 
names  assigned  to  it.  It  has  been  called  morus  ma- 
nilla,  from  Manilla,  where  first  discovered,  which  is 
the  capital  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  hence  also  its 
second  name  morus  philippina  ;  from  the  hooded 
convex,  or  bowled  form  of  the  leaves,  it  has  been 
also  termed  the  morns  cuculluta ;  from  the  name  of 
its  first  European  discoverer  the  Perrottet  mulberry  ; 
but  Perrottet  himself  called  it  the  multicaulis,  many 
stalked,  or  mulberry  with  many  stems  ;  and  by  way 
of  eminence  the  Chinese  mulberry.  To  the  name 
moims  nigra  sinensis  there  is  no  objection  except 
that  in  it  there  is  no  word  to  express  that  it  is  a  mere 
hybrid  or  variety  ;  but  to  the  name  morns  alba  si- 
7iensis,  which  we  find  has  been  ascribed  to  it,  we  do 
object,  since  its  iruit  is  black  and  not  white.  Many 
names  for  the  same  thing  are  generally  productive 
of  confusion.  This  has  been  verified  ;  since  there 
are  not  wanting  several  who,  from  these  diverse 
names,  have  supposed  the  existence  of  so  many 
difierent  liybrids,  or  even  of  so  many  distinct  species. 
Had  the  just  conviction  of  JNI.  Poiteau  been  originally 
adopted,  who  observed  that  "  public  gratitude  and 
justice  require  that  the  name  of  the  zealous  traveller 
should  be  affixed  to  the  valuable  plant,  which  has 
given  him  celebrity,  and  he  has  given  to  Europe,  to 
Africa,  and  to  America,"  the  ambiguity  would  have 
been  avoided  in  a  way  whose  propriety  none  would 
have  questioned. 

From  Manilla,  the  multicaulis  was  first  introduced 
by  M.  Perrottet  to  the  Isle  of  Bourbon,  and  from 
thence  into  Cayenne,  and  afterwards  to  France, 
where,  at  first,  its  culture  was  confined  to  the  Royal 
Gardens.  At  a  later  period,  it  was  sent  from  Cayenne 
to  Martinique,  and  from  France  to  Guadaloupe,  and 
also  to  Senegal.     The  numerous  plants  now  dissemi- 


184  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

nated  through  the  diverse  climes  of  Europe,  Africa 
and  America,  are  all  the  proceed  of  the  two  indi- 
vidual plants  brought  by  M.  Perrottet  from  Manilla. 

M.  Poiteau,  M.  Eyries  of  Havre,  and  Chevalier 
Bodin  of  Paris,  have  informed  us  that  this  plant  has 
braved  all  the  winters  since  its  introduction,  and 
prospered  in  all  climates  in  France.  M.  Bonafoux, 
the  director  of  the  Royal  Gardens  at  Turin,  and  the 
celebrated  writer  on  silk,  has  also  fully  attested  its 
decided  superiority  in  Italy,  where  he  has  found  that, 
by  close  planting  and  low  pruning,  whole  fields  may 
be  suddenly  covered  with  a  mass  of  the  most  luxu- 
riant foliage.  M.  Dupont  of  Chiron,  near  Chamberry 
in  France,  also  found  that,  as  the  silk  worms  fed  on 
this  mulberry  make  less  waste  of  litter  and  of  food,  so 
the  chances  of  disease  are  diminished  from  this  cause, 
and  they  finish  their  labours  in  less  time,  producing 
silk  of  a  more  brilliant  lustre.  He  also  found  that 
the  saving  of  labour,  in  gathering  tiic  food,  is  so  great 
that  ten  quintals  of  the  leaves  of  the  multicaulis  are 
gathered  in  the  same  time  which  is  requisite  to 
gather  two  quintals  of  the  leaves  of  the  common 
white  mulberry.  By  the  most  perfect  rules  of  prun- 
ing, he  makes  this  mulberry  assume  the  form  of  a 
quenouille,  or  vast  distaff,  fifteen  feet  high  :  the  form 
to  be  always  preserved. 

Dr.  Deslongchamps,  in  his  experiments  at  Paris, 
had  found  that  the  cocoons  produced  by  the  worms 
fed  exclusively  on  the  Chinese  mulberry,  were  even 
heavier  than  other  cocoons.  And  in  the  report,  on 
this  shrub,  to  the  Academy  of  Dijon  by  M.  Tilloy,  in 
1834,  we  learn  that  it  appeared  by  accurate  experi- 
ments that  the  cocoons  produced  from  this  variety 
being  rather  heavier,  the  fibre  was  consequently 
stronger ;  and  it  was  remarked  in  winding  384 
cocoons  that  not  a  thread  was  broken. 

Near  Montgeron  in  the  north  of  France,  the  French 
have  established  an  experimental  silk  farm  under  the 
direction  of  M.  Camille  Beauvais.  And  the  extraor- 
dinary experiments,  which  arc  there  in  progress,  were 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  185 

published  in  1835.  Already  had  he  succeeded  in 
producing  thirteen  pounds  of  silk  from  the  same 
number  of  silk  worms,  which  in  France  usually  pro- 
duced but  five  pounds,  in  Italy  seven  pounds  and 
a  half,  and  in  India  twenty  pounds.  And  even  in  his 
climate,  M.  Beauvais  expects  soon  to  be  able  to  pro- 
duce, with  the  aid  of  the  multicaulis,  an  equal  num- 
ber of  pounds  from  the  same  quantity  of  silk  worms 
as  the  old  practitioners  of  4000  years. 

In  Tuscany,  so  fine  is  their  climate,  that  two  suc- 
cessive crops  of  silk  are  annually  produced  from  the 
common  mulberry ;  and  Dr.  Deslougchamps  has 
proved  that,  by  the  aid  of  the  Chinese  mulberry, 
two  crops  of  silk  may  be  annually  produced  even  in 
the  north  of  France.  And,  in  this  country,  the  cele- 
brated prediction  of  Dr.  Pascalis  that,  ^'- after  the 
discovery  of  this  plant,  a  doubt  no  longer  existed 
that  two  crops  of  silk  may  be  produced  in  a  single 
season,^'  has  been  repeatedly  verified. 

Every  thing  relative  to  the  history  of  the  multi- 
caulis in  this  country  that  is  necessary  on  our  part  to 
give,  is  combined  with  other  important  matter  in  the 
following  extract  from  the  correspondence  of  one  on 
whose  testimony  and  opinion  we  can  rely.  "  I  was 
the  first  person  south  of  New  York,  who  had  the 
morns  multicaulis.  It  was  sent  to  me  by  Wm.  Prince 
and  Sons,  in  1S2S,*  in  a  collection  of  seven  other  va- 
rieties of  mulberry.  It  was  not  then  known  by  the 
present  name,  but  it  was  called  the  Philippine  mul- 
berry. About  a  year  after  I  received  it,  accounts 
arrived  from  France  of  the  receipt  there  of  the 
multicaulis,  and  of  its  great  value  for  feeding  silk 
worms.  On  examining  my  trees,  I  at  once  found 
that  my  Philippine  mulberry  was  the  multicaulis,  and 
immediately  commenced  feeding  my  silk  worms  with 
it,  and  from  experiment  ascertained  the  truth  of  all 

*  From  this  we  may  suppose  that  Messrs.  Prince  &  Sons  possessed 
the  first  multicaulis  tree  in  North  America;  probably  in  1827.  Mr. 
Kenrick  dates  the  time  of  its  first  introduction  into  New  England  in 
1831. 


186  THE    MORUS    iAIULTICAULIS. 

the  French  had  said  about  it.  From  that  time  to 
this,  I  have  continued  to  urge  upon  all,  the  propriety 
of  cultivating  this  in  preference  to  the  white  mul- 
berry. Its  advantages  are,  1.  It  is  full  as  hardy 
as  the  xohitc :  2.  One  pound  of  its  leaves  contain 
as  much  nntritive  matter  as  a  pound  and  a  half  of 
the  white:  3.  The  silk  made  from  it  is  of  a  finer  tex- 
ture and  more  lustrous :  4.  Its  leaves  are  so  large 
that  a  pound  can  be  gathered  at  half  the  expense 
and  trouble  that  a  pound  of  ivhite  mulberry  leaves 
require :  5.  //  can  be  cultivated  loitli  infinitely 
more  despatch  than  any  other  kind.  These  are  all 
great  advantages.  In  relation  to  the  hardiness  of  the 
raulticaulis,  I  observe  that  I  have  cultivated  it  for 
seven  years  ;  never  protected  it  in  any  manner  what- 
ever, and  never  lost  a  tree.  I  have  seen  the  young 
tinripened  wood  of  all  varieties  destroyed  by  the 
winter,  and  was  very  early  led  to  adopt  measures  to 
guard  against  if,  and  now  I  never  lose  a  bud."* 

The  morns  multicaulis  grows  vigorous,  upright,  and 
beautiful ;  the  leaves  are  large,  soft,  and  fender,  pe- 
tiolate,  cordate,  acuminate,  serrated  towards  the  sum- 
mit, marked  with  nerves,  always  entire  ;  their  upper 
surface  is  convex,  bowled  or  curved  ;  of  a  deep  and 
beaufifnlly  shining  green.  The  form  and  dimensions 
of  the  leaf  vary  in  diiferent  soils.  In  a  dry  and  arid 
soil,  their  size  is  less,  their  form  elliptical  and  without 
the  heart-shaped  indentation  at  the  base;  their  breadth 
in  this  case  being  six  inches,  and  their  length  eight ; 
but  in  a  light,  rich  and  friable  soil,  the  produce  of 
the  foliage  is  most  abundant,  the  leaves  large  and 
cordiform;  extraordinary  specimens  having  sometimes 
measured  more  than  a  foot  in  breadth  and  fifteen 
inches  in  length. 

Each  male  flower  has  a  calyx  of  four  concave, 
oval,  membranous  leaflets,  four  stamina,  with  fila- 
ments  accompanied  with   a   tridentate   appendage  ; 


*   Letter  to  the  Fanner  and  Guardian  from  Gideon  B.  Smith,  Esq., 
of  Bahimore,  inserted  in  Fessendcn's  Silk  Manual  for  February,  1837. 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  187 

anthers  sagittate,  bilocular.  Each  female  has  an 
ovary,  terminated  by  two  divergent  styles.  The 
ovary  is  unilocular,  containing  a  single  pendant  seed, 
which  is  frequently  blasted  or  imperfect. 

A  comparison  between  the  white  Italian  mulberry 
and  the  moras  multicaulis,  is  thus  stated  in  the  third 
\-o!ume  of  the  Silk  Cnlturist.  The  ichite  Italian 
viulherry  requires  four  years*  growth  before  it  can 
be  safely  fed  from,  six  years  before  remunerating 
profits  can  be  obtained  from  its  foliage,  and  twenty 
before  it  can  be  said  to  have  attained  its  full  growth. 

The  morns  mxdticaulis  tree  can  be  fed  from  the 
first  season  without  injury ;  the  second  season  it 
will  yield  nearly  as  much  foliage  as  at  any 
.'subsequent  period.  It  may  be  multiplied  from  cut- 
tings to  an  almost  incalculable  extent.  Every  piece 
of  wood  with  a  single  bud,  being  competent  to  make 
a  shrub  from  four  to  six  feet  high  the  first  year  : 
whereas  the  white  Italian  mulberry  requires  four  years 
before  it  can  be  fed  from,  and  even  then  to  nothing 
like  the  extent  of  the  former. 

The  leaves  of  the  morus  multicaulis  are  nine  or 
ten  times  as  large  as  those  of  the  white  Italian  mul- 
berry ;  equally  as  nutritious,  and  are  eaten  with  more 
avidity  by  the  worms.  They  will  make  silk  fully  as 
lustrous  and  as  elastic  as  those  of  the  white  Italian  ; 
and  from  tlie  great  size  of  the  leaves  of  the  former, 
it  reduces  the  labour  of  gathering  and  feeding  seven- 
ty, eighty,  or  ninety  per  cent.;  but  for  the  sake  of 
accuracy,  we  will  say  fifty  per  cent. 

An  acre  in  morus  multicaulis,  two  years  old,  will 
yield  by  one  half  more  foliage  than  the  same  quanti- 
ty of  ground  in  the  white  Italian  mulberry,  six  years 
old  ;  when  a  leaf  of  the  former  is  gathered,  food  is 
provided  for  nine  or  ten  worms  ;  whereas  a  leaf  of 
the  latter  only  suffices  one  worm.  There  is  no  more 
trouble  in  gathering  the  large  leaves  of  the  multicau- 
lis, than  there  is  in  those  of  the  morus  alba.  The 
labour  of  feeding  is  the  same,  with  this  difference, 
that  in  feeding  with  one  of  its  leaves,  you  accommo- 


188  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

date  nine  times  the  number.  In  the  leaf  of  the 
multicauUs  there  are  but  few  stems,  and  scarcely  any 
that  are  not  eatable  by  the  worm.  In  that  of  the 
morus  alba  the  stems  or  uneatable  fibres,  compose 
fully  one-third  of  its  weight,  all  which  is  waste  and 
loss. 

In  feeding  with  the  multicaulis,  the  residuum  being 
but  little,  there  is  no  vegetable  offal  remaining  to 
become  noxious  by  fermentation,  and  hence  a  greatly 
reduced  quantity  of  labour  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
whole  cocoonery  in  a  salutary  state.  In  feeding  with 
the  white  Italian  mulberry,  a  large  amount  of  stems 
and  coarse  fibres  are  left  on  the  shelves,  which,  if  not 
speedily  removed,  ferment  and  become  productive  of 
disease." 

This  comparative  statement,  the  Messrs.  Cheneys, 
who  are  regarded  in  the  light  of  practical  men,  fully 
confirm  as  follows  :  "  It  takes  jive  years,  at  least,  to 
grow  otf  the  white  mulberry  sallicient  to  afford 
foliage  to  feed  many  worms.  But  from  the  multi- 
caulis of  the  first  yearns  growth,  we  have  fed  worms 
in  such  numbers  as  to  obtain  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred pounds  of  silk  from  the  leaves  growuig  on  an 
acre  of  land,  worth  from  250  to  500  dollars."  This, 
we  must  remember,  refers  merely  to  the  amount  of 
silk  that  may  be  obtained  from  the  multicaulis,  not 
-wiihin  five  yea7  s  as  would  be  the  case  with  the  white 
mulberry,  but  within  five  months  of  its  being  planted  ; 
but  we  shall  hereafter  see  that  the  amount  of  silk  to 
be  obtained  the  second  year  is  double  that  of  the 
former.  "  It  has  another  advantage  of  still  greater 
magnitude.  The  leaf  of  the  morus  multicaulis  is 
eight  times  larger  than  that  of  the  white  mulberry  ; 
therefore  the  labour  of  gathering  it  is  reduced  in  the 
same  ratio.  This  is  a  very  weighty  consideration, 
since  the  picking  of  the  leaves  is  the  great  item  of 
expense  in  making  raw  silk.*     The  weight  of  leaves 

*  The  fact,  that  in  two  months  after  the  cuttings  of  the  morus  mul- 
ticaulis is  planted,  it  begins  to  supply  the  silk  worms,  daily  increasing 
as  the  worms  pass  through  their  several  stages,  so  as  to  meet  their  wants, 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  189 

which  the  muUicauhs  will  produce,  is  a  hundred  per 
cent,  more  than  the  white  mulberry  aftbrds,  when  the 
trees  are  of  equal  age  and  on  the  same  extent  of 
ground.  This  is  not  all.  The  multicaulis  can  be 
propagated  more  abundantly  and  cheaper  than  the 
morus  alba  or  any  other  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted. That  the  multicaulis  with  proper  manage- 
ment will  endure  the  climate  of  New  York  and  New 
England,  we  have  abundant  evidence.  That  it  will 
flourish  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  southern  portion  of 
the  union  is  not,  now,  questionable.  At  the  north 
the  tree  must  be  protected  the  first  winter ;  at  the 
south*  even  this  is  unnecessary." 

is  giving  a  crop  of  silk  sooner  tlian  com  will  give  its  yield  planted  on 
the  same  day,  together  with  the  easy  facility  of  collecting  the  leaves, 
which,  the  first  year  at  least,  are  lower,  instead  of  higher  than  the 
smallest  person  that  can  be  engaged  to  collect  them,  is  the  reason  why 
the  citizens  oi  the  United  States  have  promptlj^  sought  this  tree,  and 
resolved  to  enter  into  the  silk  business  at  any  price  within  their  power 
to  command. 

*  Tie  cases  of  making  large  profits  in  a  short  time,  both  in  the 
multiplying  of  this  multiplying  stem  or  shoot  tree,  as  well  as  in  the 
production  of  silk,  the  first  year,  are  numerous.  Instead  of  giving 
numberless  examples,  which  it  would  be  in  our  power  to  do,  we  will 
give  one.  "  As  far  as  I  know  I  was  the  first  that  tried  the  multicaulis 
in  North  Carolina,  by  procuring  one  rooted  plant  about  a  foot  high 
from  Baltimore,  four  years  ago,  which  cost  me  a  dollar,  beside  convey- 
ance. From  this  one  I  have  since  propagated  several  thousand  rooted 
trees,  not  to  name  cuttings.  I  have  sold  to  the  amount  of  near  a  thou- 
sand dollars,  (a  thousand  dollars  from  one  in  four  years)  and  have  a 
stock  left  worth  several  hundred  dollars.  My  cuttings  grew,  with  few 
exceptions,  to  five  and  six  feet  the  first  year,  and  in  good  ground  to 
eight  or  nine  feet  in  a  season.  My  first  propagated  trees  are  sixteen  or 
eighteen  feet  high.  It  is  my  purpose  to  unite  in  one  establishment  the 
vine  and  silk  culture.  And  I  hope  thereby  not  only  to  profitably  em- 
ploj'  all  the  year,  widows,  and  children  and  the  superannuated,  or  the 
otherwise  disqualified  for  hard  labour,  but  to  clear  5500  per  annum  per 
acre  from  the  silk,  and  SlOOO  per  acre  from  the  vine  culture.  This 
may  appear  to  some  an  Eutopean  scheme,  but  not  to  those  who  know 
the  profits  of  the  silk  business,  when  properly  conducted,  nor  to  those 
who  have  witnessed  the  abundant  and  never  failing  yield  of  the  Scup- 
pernong  vines." — Sidney  Wilier,  Brinkleyville,  N.  C,  Nov.  1837. 

We  have  said  that  we  could  relate  numberless  similar  examples  ;  but 
it  would  be  amusing  to  mention  the  case  of  the  man,  in  this  Philadel- 
phia, two  years  ago  not  worth  one  cent  !  but  his  credit  was  good ;  on 
which  he  borrowed  5 100,  the  whole  of  which  he  invested,  not  in  a 


190  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON  THE  CULTURE  OF  THE  MULTICAULIS. 

It  was  for  some  time  a  question  whether  this  in- 
vakiable  shrub  could  be  reproduced  from  its  own 
seed ;  and  for  a  time  the  dye  spun  doubtfully.  It 
would  be  now  useless  to  spend  many  lines  on  the 
subject :  it  is  decided  :  the  multicaulis  is  a  hybrid, 
and  cannot,  from  its  own  seed,  in  one  case  out  of  a 
thousand  reproduce  its  like.  It  is  true  that  the  plant 
will  produce  black  berries  or  fruit,  and  that  but  spar- 
ingly. It  is  further  conceded  that  one  seed  out  of 
several  hundreds,  or  even  a  thousand,  may  produce 
the  multicaulis  ;  but  all  the  rest  diverge  into  varieties 
so  numerous  as  to  defy  the  patience  of  the  most  at- 
tentive phytologist  to  define  them.  To  save  our  own 
limits,  we  refer  to  an  article,  which  may  be  consider- 
ed as  the  verdict  of  a  jury  of  this  country  on  the 
subject,  on  page  711  of  vol.  iv.  of  the  Farmer's  Re- 
gister. We  repeat  it :  the  multicaulis  is  a  hybrid. 
One  seed  out  of  many  hundreds  may  produce  its 
own  like  ;  the  rest  will  not.  Its  reproduction,  there- 
fore, must  be  either  by  cuttings  or  layers.  As  for 
grafting,  budding  or  inoculating,  absolutely  not  one 
of  them  is  worthy  of  either  our  attention,  or  of  that 
of  the  reader. 

It  is  asserted  by  a  late  writer  that  no  kind  of  mul- 
berry tree  under  cultivation,  can  be  produced  from 
seed.  This  is  an  error,  which  all  experience  at  once 
disproves.  It  is  only  the  hybrid  kinds  of  which  this 
may  be  said.     The  ivhite,  the  black,  the  red,  in  short 


silver  mine,  but  in  a  tree,  which  yielded  silver  more  rapidly  than  could 
the  mine.  After  paying  his  debt,  he  is  now  worth  considerably  more 
than  $3000  • 


THE    MORUS    MULTICATTLIS.  191 

all  the  distinct  species,  are  constantly  under  cultiva- 
tion from  the  seed  ;  and  they  have  thus,  questionless, 
produced  their  like,  since  the  creation,  as  they  cer- 
tainly have  since  their  distinctive  properties  were  first 
known.  The  error  of  the  author  in  question  can  only 
be  attributed  to  his  utter  unacquaintance  with  the 
history,  genera,  species,  and  varieties  of  the  morns. 
Such  inferences  may  be  easily  but  rashly  drawn, 
where  the  writer  is  unable  to  distinguish  in  the  order 
of  classifications,  according  to  the  established  laws  of 
phytology  that  relate  to  tribes,  order,  genera,  species, 
and  varieties.  Without  this  knowledge,  our  expe- 
rience is  of  little  worth,  since  we  are  thus  disqualified 
to  mark  with  precision  those  distinctive  attributes 
with  which  every  one,  that  attempts  to  enlighten 
another,  should  be  familiar. 

It  is  further  decided  that  any  land  suitable  for  rais- 
ing a  crop  of  corn,  (some  go  so  far  as  to  say,  of  only 
ten  bushels  to  the  acre,)  will  do  for  cultivating  the 
Chinese  mulberry.  A  dry,  ivarm,  sandy  loam  is 
quite  congenial  to  its  nature.  A  cold,  damp,  or  heavy 
soil,  will  not  answer.  //  luill  thrive  tolerably  ivell 
on  poor  land,  but  much  better  on  that  which  is  fer- 
tile. Sunny  exposures,  and  the  declivities  of  hills, 
especially  those  which  slope  to  the  south,  east,  or 
west,  are  favourable.  If  the  ground  is  to  be  prepared 
for  layers,  prepare  it,  as  for  corn,  and  at  the  same 
season  furrow  it  into  rows  three  and  a  half  feet  asun- 
der. Then  scatter  icell  rotted*  manure  into  the  fur- 
rows two  inches  deep.  This  mulberry  should  be 
cultivated  in  hedge  rows,  or  not  suffered  to  rise  higher 
than  seven  or  eight  feet.  But  a  few  years  are  requi- 
site to  raise  considerable  fields  of  them  in  full  vigour, 
sufficient  to  supply  an  immense  number  of  silk  worms; 
and  regular  plantations  can  be  formed,  by  planting 
the  trees  in  rows  of  eight  feet  asunder,  and  at  the 
distance  of  three  feet  and  a  half  in  the  rows;  a  space 
sulficient  for  the  extension  of  the  branches,  for  sub- 

*  This  distinction  is  somewhat  important,  since  it  is  even  said,  that 
jrt&h  manure  is  poLion  to  the  mulberry. 


192  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

sequent  culture,  and  for  the  convenience  of  gathering 
the  leaves.  With  the  muiticaulis  cultivated  on  this 
plan,  we  are  informed  by  M.  Perrottet,  that  a  child 
is  sufficient,  so  flexible  are  the  stalks,  and  the  leaves 
so  large,  to  supply  with  food  a  large  establishment 
of  silk  worms. 

We  have  taken  it  for  granted  that  it  is  generally 
understood  that  the  several  distinct  species  of  mul- 
berry trees,  or  kinds  capable  of  reproduction  from 
seed,  are  best  cultivated  as  we  have  already  described 
in  preceding  chapters ;  and  that  all  hyby^ids,  or  varie- 
ties* incapable  of  reproduction  from  seed,  can  only  be 
propagated  by  cuttings  or  layers.  Of  these  methods, 
a  description  here  for  the  muiticaulis  will  suffice  for 
the  rest,  and  even  for  a  species,  whenever  any  should 
choose  to  cultivate  it,  in  either  of  these  ways,  since 
in  whatever  way  a  hybrid  may  be  propagated  any 

*  To  comprehend  what  is  meant  by  a  hybrid  plant  it  must  be  under- 
stood that  among  the  genera  and  species  of  trees  there  are  different 
sexes.  These  sexes  contain  two  or  more  whoi-ls  of  transformed  leaves, 
of  which  the  outer  are  called  stamens,  and  the  inner  pisfilla.  The 
stamens  have  at  their  apex  an  organ,  called  the  anther,  which  contains 
a  powder  or  the  pollen.  This  pollen  when  the  anther  is  mature,  is 
emitted,  and  dispersed,  or  deposited  upon  the  stigma.  The  action  of  the 
winds  may  bear  it  to  a  distance  where  other  plants  may  be  fecundated 
by  it,  as  in  some  trees,  the  male  and  female  being  distinct  trees,  are  thus 
alTected. 

The  pistillum  has  at  its  base  one  or  more  cells,  in  which  the  ovula  are 
placed ;  and  at  its  apex  one  or  more  secreting  surfaces  called  stii^mata. 
These  ovula  arc  the  rudiments  of  the  seeds.  The  fecundating  power  of 
the  pollen  enters  or  falls  on  the  stigma,  and  the  ovula  of  the  pistillum 
are  vivified,  and  become  seeds.  But  it  is  possible,  by  artificial  means, 
to  cause  deviations  from  this  law  of  nature. 

If  the  pollen  of  one  species  be  placed  upon  the  stigma  of  another 
species,  the  ovula  will  be  vivified,  and  a  hi/brid  plant  will  be  the  j)ro- 
duct.  These  hybrids  are  dill'crent  from  both  their  parents,  but  the  new 
species  will  have  the  general  aspect  of  the  polleniferous  parent,  but  is, 
notwithstanding,  influenced  in  other  respects  by  the  peculiarities  of  the 
female  parent;  a  fact,  in  procuring  new  hybrid  plants,  which  should 
never  be  forgotten. 

Plants  capable  of  being  hybridized  are  those  in  which  the  sexual  or- 
gans are  prominently  developed.  To  produce  hybrids,  therefore,  plants 
must  be  selected  from  different  species  of  the  same  genus,  and  should 
not  be  confounded  with  the  spurious  formations  from  admixture  with  the 
same  genus  and  species. 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  193 

Other  variety  or  ev-en  a  species  may  ;  though  on  the 
other  hand  a  hybrid  cannot  in  every  way  be  cuhi- 
tivated  as  a  species,  or  raised  from  seed.  We  have, 
therefore,  purposely  deferred  the  wliole  subject  rela- 
tive to  cuttings  and  layers  to  this  chapter. 

Cultivation  by  cuttings  and  layers  is  divisible  in 
four  methods,  of  which  two  refer  to  cuttings,  and 
two  to  the  method  by  layers. 

1.  Cuttings:  method  1.  By  j)vevious  forwarding 
the  budding  or  vegetative  process  in  frames  or  under 
glass.  Let  there  be  prepared,  before  the  month  of 
March,  frames  or  boxes,  of  convenient  lengths,  and 
sutficient  in  number  to  contain  the  cuttings  on  hand. 
Let  the  depth  of  the  front  of  these  frames  or  boxes, 
be  about  eighteen  inches,  that  of  the  back  two  feet ; 
and  width  two  feet  and  a  half.  If  these  be  boxes, 
having  bottoms,  they  must  be  perforated,  to  allow  of 
a  constant  communication,  on  account  of  the  draining 
otF  or  admission  of  moisture,  with  the  external  soil. 
To  these  glass  frame  tops,  opening  by  hinges  should 
be  provided. 

Prepare  also  a  mixture  composed  of  rather  more 
than  one  half,  or  nearly  two-thirds,  of  loell  rotted* 
stable  or  other  manure,  and  the  rest  of  a  light  dry 
mould,  sufficient  in  quantity  to  fill  the  frames,  box  or 
boxes,  to  the  depth,  of  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
inches.  Place  these  on  the  ground  where  they  are 
intended  to  remain,  in  a  position  facing  the  sun. 

The  trees  intended  for  this  use,  cut  into  pieces  of 
two,  or  two  and  a  half  inches,  or  always  of  such 
lengths  as  to  have  each  at  least  one  bud,  which 
should  be  near  the  end.t     In  the  frames  or  boxes 

*  Some  have  said  fresh  manure ;  though  in  this  case,  they  always 
allow  sufficient  time  for  its  partial  decomposition.  It  is  proper  to  ob- 
ser\'e  this,  since  it  has  been  said  that  all  fresh  manure  is  poison  to  the 
mulberrj-. 

j  It  has  been  recommended,  previous  to  planting  of  the  cutting,  to 
take  a  sharp  knife,  and  to  cut  a  slice  off  the  lower  end  of  about  three- 
founhs  of  an  inch  below  the  bud,  on  two  sides,  somewhat  in  the  shape 
of  the  bowl  of  a  pen.  The  advantage  of  this,  however,  appears  to  be 
doubtful. 

17 


194  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

containing  the  mixture  already  described,  about  the 
Jirst  of  March,  stick  these  cuttings,  with  the  bud 
always  uppermost  and  turned  towards  the  south,  but 
the  whole  cutting  inclined  with  its  head  towards  the 
north,  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees.  Place 
them  in  rows  about  half  an  inch  asunder,  and  at 
about  the  same  distance  in  each  row  ;  or  in  such  wise 
that  the  one  shall  not  touch  the  other.  Press  the 
earth  around  them  with  the  finger  and  thumb,  cover- 
ing over  the  bud  about  the  fourth  of  an  inch.* 

On  mild  warm  days,  open  the  glass  tops  to  admit 
air ;  but  on  the  approach  of  frost,  especially  at  night, 
close  the  glasses,  and  cover  with  matting  or  other 
protection.  Or  rather  cover  with  mattings  every 
evening  before  sunset,  and  keep  them  on  next  day, 
until  the  sun  has  attained  considerable  power.  To 
prevent  the  escape  of  the  heat  of  the  bed  from  the 
sides,  let  a  few  inches  of  horse  manure  be  placed 
around  them.  Two  or  three  times  a  week,  just  be- 
fore putting  on  the  matting  for  the  evening,  let  the 
bed  be  gently  watered  with  water  that  has  been  pre- 
viously exposed  for  a  day  or  two  to  the  sun.  And 
when  the  plants  come  up  and  begin  to  put  forth 
leaves,  some  plaster  of  Paris  should  be  sprinkled 
over  them. 

From  the  first  to  the  middle  of  May,  the  plants 
will  be  from  four  to  eight  inches  high  ;  and  may  then 
be  transplanted  to  the  place  where  they  are  intended 
to  grow.  For  this  purpose,  on  ground  previously 
prepared  as  already  directed,  with  the  plough  de- 
scribe parallel  rows  three  feet  asunder,  on  each  of 
which  let  holes,  for  the  reception  of  the  plants,  be 
made  one  foot  apart.     With  a  transplanting  trowel, 


•  It  has  been  customary  with  some  to  leave  the  tip  of  the  bud  ex- 
posed ;  but  subsequent  experience  has  proved  the  advantage  of  the 
method  prescribed.  A  hand  machine,  with  a  cutter  and  lever,  has  re- 
cently been  prepared,  and  is  for  sale  at  the  seed  store  of  Messrs.  Lan- 
dreths  in  this  city,  with  which  thousands  can  be  cut  clean  off  with  one 
stroke  each.  Its  price  is  moderate,  and  it  is  extremely  useful  and  con- 
venient for  the  cultivator. 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  195 

if  possible  soon  after  a  rain,  take  the  plants  up  care- 
fully, with  as  much  earth  as  possible  attached  to  the 
roots.  Insert  these  in  the  cavities  prepared,  the  earth 
drawn  around,  press  about  them  with  the  finger  and 
thumb.  Water  them  for  two  weeks  daily,  especially 
if  the  weather  be  dry ;  or  until  the  plants  give  evi- 
dence of  having  freely  commenced  drawing  their  sus- 
tenance from  the  soil.  If  the  whole  of  this  be  at- 
tended to,  very  general  success  and  with  few  failures 
will  be  the  consequence,  and  the  plants  will  grow, 
during  the  same  season,  from  four  to  six  feet,  and 
will  ripen  their  wood  so  that  the  ensuing  winter  will 
not  injure  them. 

The  advantages  resulting  from  the  process  of  pre- 
viously starting  the  cuttings  in  hot  beds,  are  several 
and  self-evident.  By  this  means  the  culturist  can 
insure  to  his  young  trees  at  least  four  weeks'  longer 
growth  in  the  first  season.  One  bud  by  this  means 
only  is  necessary,  but  in  other  cases  two,  which  alone 
is  a  saving  of  half  the  expense  in  trees.  The  cer- 
tainty of  success  as  to  each  cutting  is  by  this  method 
much  greater.  Watering  the  whole  when  necessary, 
is  by  the  contracted  space  they  occupy  much  facili- 
tated ;  and  by  this  forwarding  process,  the  young 
plants  get  such  a  start,  that  the  weeds,  which  soon 
after  spring  up  in  prodigious  numbers,  cannot  so  se- 
riously injure  them. 

2.  Cuttings  :  method,  2.  By  open  cultivation 
without  previous  budding.  It  is  strongly  asserted 
by  some  that  two  buds  instead  of  one  are  necessary 
on  each  cutting  whenever  planted  in  open  culture. 
For  this  let  the  ground  be  previously  prepared  with 
well  rotted  barn-yard  or  other  stable  manure  ;  or  in 
the  want  of  it,  with  a  mixture  of  ashes  with  fine 
mould,  in  the  proportion  of  150  bushels  of  the  former 
to  four  loads  of  the  latter  to  the  acre.  Having  plenty 
of  this  or  other  suitable  compost,  manure  broadcast, 
otherwise  in  the  furrow,  or  even  in  the  dibble,  as  is 
sometimes  done  for  corn.  After  ploughing  and  har- 
rowing strike  off  furrows,  north  and  south,  three  feet 


196 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 


asunder,  in  which,  one  foot  apart,  and  at  an  angle  of 
forty-five  degrees,  as  before,  the  heads  pointed  to  the 
north,  place  about  the  last  loeek  of  April  the  cuttings, 
one  inch  under  the  earth,  with  the  upper  bud  facing 
the  south.  Draw  the  earth  around  the  cutting  so  as 
to  cover  the  bud  about  one  quarter  of  an  inch,  and 
press  the  earth  tightly  around  it.  Water  tliem  for  a 
few  days,  if  there  be  no  rain.  As  the  sprouts  appear, 
let  the  lioe  draw  some  mould  carefully  round  them, 
so  as  to  give  the  roots  depth  of  soil  for  their  nutri- 
ment. Let  the  weeds  be  kept  down,  and  the  ground 
in  all  the  above  cases  be  kept  frequently  turned  over, 
and  fresh ;  and  a  good  crop  of  trees  may  be  insured. 
By  the  frequent  use  of  the  cultivator,  all  grass  and 
weeds  between  the  rows  should  be  effectually  kepf 
down.  To  keep  the  plants  clean,  and  the  ground 
well  stirred  and  mellow  is  highly  necessary  till  the 
first  of  August ;  after  which  the  ground  should  not 
be  stirred,  and  the  trees  should  be  left  to  ripen  their 
wood.  Plaster  of  Paris  in  the  proportion  of  one 
bushel  to  the  acre  may  be  strewed  over  the  plants 
when  they  are  first  forming  their  leaves  whilst  the 
dew  is  on  them. 

Fig.  2. 


THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS.  197 

3.  Layers  :  method  3.  Layering  by  the  whole 
tree,  without  branches.  Trees  are  either  layered  by 
the  whole  tree,  or  by  first  "taking  olT  the  lateral 
branches,  and  then  layering  each  separately  ;  the  lat- 
ter plan  is  preferable ;  since  it  allows  sufficient  room 
for  the  young  shoots  to  grow. 

For  this  purpose  let  the  ground  be  duly  prepared 
and  pulverized  by  ploughing,  harrowing,  and  if  ne- 
cessary, rolling  ;  and  manure,  at  least  in  the  drill, 
with  the  compost  already  mentioned  or  slaked  ashes. 
About  the  last  week  of  April,  run  a  plough  or  culti- 
vator through  the  land,  as  if  for  corn,  in  parallel 
lines,  three  feet  asunder  ;  and  let  each  furrow  be 
three  inches  deep.  One  person  lays  the  tree  in  a 
horizontal  position  in  this  furrow  ;  the  root  of  one 
plant  being  placed  at  the  top  of  the  one  preceding  it, 
and  proceeds  thus  to  the  end  of  the  line.  Another 
follows  him  with  a  hoe,  and  draws  the  earth  over  the 
prostrate  plant,  covering  it  with  mould  to  the  depth 
of  from  one  to  two  inches  ;  though  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  bury  it  too  deep.  Wherever  the  furrow 
is  not  of  depth  sufficient  to  admit  of  covering  the 
root  or  thicker  part  of  the  tree  to  that  extent,  with 
the  hoe  deepen  the  furrow  below  the  root.  In  cover- 
ing the  root  and  main  stem,  lightly  press  down  the 
earth  with  the  flat  part  of  the  hoe,  so  as  to  cause  the 
earth  to  adhere  to  both.  And,  in  covering,  draw  into 
the  furrow  none  but  the  well  pulverized  mould,  that 
nothing  should  impede  the  ascent  of  the  young  leaf- 
let. A  little  additional  care  employed  here,  will  be 
well  repaid  in  the  improvement  of  the  crop.  Nothing 
can  be  more  simple  than  this  process.  An  additional 
advantage  would  be  gained  by  previously  steeping,  for 
twenty-four  hours,  the  trees  in  pure  water.  The 
roots  and  stems  being  thus  all  planted,  proceed  in  all 
respects  with  the  lateral  branches  in  the  same  manner. 

4.  Layers  :  method  4.  Layering  by  sections  de- 
serves the  attention  of  culturists.  Cut  the  tree  into 
pieces  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches ;  and  having 
prepared  the  soil  at  the  same  season  as  already  di- 

17* 


198  THE    MORUS    MULTICAULIS. 

rected,  place  these  sections  i.n  the  plough  trace  in  such 
a  manner  that  there  will  be  a  piece  of  the  plant  alter- 
nating with  a  space  of  equal  length  intervening  be- 
tween it  and  the  next  section.  The  intention  of  this 
is  to  admit  more  freely  the  sun  and  air  between  the 
plants,  and  also  to  favour  the  growth  of  the  otfshoots 
or  branches ;  for  these  by  the  last  method  will  be, 
from  the  closeness  of  the  trees,  few,  compared  with 
the  number  of  buds  which  otherwise  would  produce 
a  plant. 

When  the  morus  multicaulis  is  planted  by  layers, 
a  tree  does  not  always  proceed  from  each  bud.  The 
buds,  it  is  true,  will  frequently  all  put  forth,  but  soon 
some  one  will  exhibit  greater  vigour  than  the  rest, 
and  its  growth  will  be  rapid ;  but  the  next  shoot  or 
shoots  will  probably  dwindle  or  dry  up.  The  last 
method  of  planting  layers  is  said  to  obviate  this  diffi- 
culty, as  the  several  shoots,  in  their  possession  of  vital 
power,  are  more  on  an  equilibrium,  and  is,  therefore, 
on  the  whole  to  be  preferred.  Of  the  two  methods 
of  preparing  and  planting  cuttings,  that  of  previously 
budding  them  is  said  to  be  much  the  better,  though 
some  prefer  the  latter.  The  last  spring,  cuttings 
planted  without  previously  springing  them  nearly  all 
failed,  while  layers  were  successful.  But  this  was 
attributed  to  the  imusual  dryness  of  the  season,  and 
the  want  of  skill  among  noviciates  in  the  art,  who  did 
not  understand  many  of  their  peculiarities  and  wants. 


Substitutes  for  the  MULBEnRT  tree,  in  the  rearing  of  silk 
worms,  have  been  long  and  anxiously  sought.  It  has  for  some  time 
been  an  opinion  that  the  mulberry  leaf  was  the  only  food  on  which  the 
silk  worm  would  subsist;  but  experience  has  proved  otherwise.  Among 
these  substitutes,  we  find  the  Madura  uuruntiaca  of  Nuttal;  the 
scorzunera  of  Willdennw ;  the  tragnpogon ;  and  the  lactuca  f:aliva. 

The  MACLCHA,  or  osaoe  ohanoe,  it  is  said,  affords  a  good  substitute 
for  the  mulberry,  and  will  make  excellent  cocoons.  This  is  a  spreading 
deciduous  tree,  and  at  maturity  is  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high,  with 
a  yellow  axillary  berry,  the  size  of  an  orange,  but  not  so  succulent, 
though  said  to  be  agreeable  when  fully  ripe.    It  was  originally  found 


THE    MORI'S    MI'LTICAULIS.  199 

on  the  banks  of  the  little  Missouri  or  Washita  river ;  also  on  those  of 
the  Red  river  in  Louisiana,  and  of  the  Arkansa  river  in  the  Arkansa 
Territory.  It  is  rapidly  spreading  over  the  south-west ;  and  is  a  valu- 
able tree  for  hedges  as  well  as  for  ornamental  variety.  It  begins  to  find 
a  place  in  our  nurseries,  and  will  soon  be  generally  knovsTi  on  account 
of  its  beauty. 

The  scoRzoyEHA,  or  viper  grass,  from  scurzon,  Sp.  viper,  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  considered  a  certain  remedy  for  the  bite  of  that  ref)- 
ti!e ;  an  attribute,  however,  which  we  much  question,  as  few  plants  used 
for  food  possess  such  active  qualities,  unless  we  may  suppose  the  roots 
contain  medicinal  properties  not  found  in  the  tops,  which  is  sometimes 
the  case ;  and  even  such  roots  with  particular  preparation  become  safely 
edible. 

The  TRAGOpoGox  poRRrFOLitrx,  or  sakafy,  is  well  known  m  our 
gardens,  as  an  esculent  root,  resembling  in  its  habits,  carrots,  parsnips, 
&c.  That  a  complete  substitute  for  the  mulberry  had  been  found  out. 
Was  recently  armounced,  and  from  it,  doubtless,  the  discoverer,  from  the 
supposition  that  it  contained  both  a  cheaper  and  better  food  for  the  silk 
worm,  expected  fame  and  wealth.  It  was  ultimately  ascertained  that  this 
important  secret  for  supplanting  the  morus  tribe,  was  no  other  than 
salsafy .'  The  secret,  however,  died  in  the  act  of  revealment.  We  hear 
no  more  of  it 

The  LACTccA  SATiTA,  or  garden  lettuce  has,  in  several  of  its  species, 
been  long  known,  as  affording  leaves  on  which  the  silk  worms  will  feed. 
Cocoons  have  been  made  from  them,  as  well  as  from  the  leaves  of  the 
trees  already  named.  But  they  have  been  used  either  for  amusement, 
experiment,  or  when  other  more  natural  and  agreeable  pabulum  failed. 
The  latter  is  probably  the  poorest  of  the  substitutes  known.  Many 
others,  may,  no  doubt,  be  in  time  discovered ;  but  it  is  not  probable  that 
any  herb  or  leaf,  other  than  that  of  the  mulberry,  will  ever  be  valuable 
for  the  silk  culture.  Though  these  substitutes  have  partially  succeeded 
in  the  production  of  silk,  yet  not  in  a  single  instance,  so  far  as  known, 
of  go  3d  quality,  and  therefore  the  use  of  them  can  by  no  means  be  re- 
commended. Rice  fldl-r  is  said  to  be  used  in  China  for  silk;  but  in 
this  country  were  it  employed  for  this  purpose,  it  would  soon  become 
scarce  and  dear.  In  short,  no  food  can  be  supplied  in  equal  abundance, 
nor  so  well  adapted  to  fill  the  silk-secretors  of  the  caterpillar,  as  that 
which  has  already  been  considered  to  be  its  legitimate  and  pecuUar  pro- 
perty. Other  varieties  of  silk-secreting  caterpillars  consuming  food  of  a 
different  description  may  yet  be  discovered.  It  is  said  that  in  the  Bra- 
zils, a  caterpillar  is  found  spinning  its  cocoons  in  the  woods,  from  which 
the  natives  make  silk.  But  we  have  no  well  authenticated  accounts 
either  of  the  worm,  or  of  the  tree  on  which  it  feeds. 

There  are  several  other  kinds  of  substitutes,  as  for  example  the  leaves 
of  the  w'tlhiv,  or  of  the  mse  tree ;  but  the  above  are  the  principal  now 
used.  In  England  experiments  have  been  made  on  an  extensive  scale 
to  discover  substitutes  for  the  mulberry.  Among  these  the  succulent 
buds  of  blackberries  or  the  young  leaves  were  offered  to  the  worms  and 
eaten  greedily  by  them.  The  elm,  the  sweet  cowsHp,  and  the  primrose 
were  presented  with  equal  success;  but  when  subsequently  the  mulberry 
leaf  was  offered,  all  the  substitutes  were  instantly  deserted,  and  their 


200  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

preference  for  the  food  tliat  nature,  not  art,  ever  designed  for  them  was 
immediately  decisive  ;  nor  could  they  afterwards  he  induced  to  taste  the 
leaves  which  before  they  had  greedily  devoured.  The  leaves  of  lettuce 
and  spinach  were  those  they  would  afterwards  taste.  No  flower  or  leaf 
of  a  roseate  hue  could  they  be  made  to  approach. 

These  remarks  we  close  with  observing  that  those  who  seek  for  sub- 
stitutes may,  it  is  true,  gratify  useless  curiosit}',  but  will  never  thereby 
either  benefit  the  public,  or  increase  the  quantity  of  silk. 


CHAPTER    V. 

MULBERRY    LEAVES :     LEAF-SELLING  :    MULBERRY    TREE- 
RENTING  :    LEAF-MARKET  :    STATISTICS, 

1.  Analysis  of  the  mulberry  leap.  All  sub- 
sequent writers  appear  to  be  indebted  to  Count  Dan- 
dolo  for  information  on  this  point ;  but  whilst  they 
have  added  nothing  new  on  the  subject,  they  have 
deprived  us  of  many  remarks  of  practical  conse- 
quence which  may  be  considered  as  a  comment  on 
the  count's  important  text,  the  analysis  of  the  viul- 
berry  leaf* 

"  There  are  five  different  substances  in  the  mul- 


•  A  recent  author  on  the  "  Mulberry  and  Silk  Worm,"  detailing  his 
experience,  commences  by  decrying  all  published  works  as  translations  of 
foreign  authors  or  compilations  not  adapted  to  our  country.  But  having 
acquitted  himself  of  this  difficulty  in  his  path,  he  at  once  takes  up  Count 
Dandolo  and  other  authorities,  and  having  darkened  what  they  made 
clear,  and  confused  what  they  had  simplified — having  minced  the  most 
important  intelligence,  and  left  those  subjects  doubtful  where  others  had 
rendered  them  lucid  and  well  defined,  he  suddenly  leaves  his  readers  in 
the  mists  of  conjecture,  without  a  new  idea,  an  improvement,  or  any 
experience  of  which  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  every  one  who  chose  to 
take  up  any  other  book  but  his  own  to  obtain  more  correct  and  definite 
intelUgence.  Having  left  his  subject  in  "  confusion  worse  confounded," 
he  performs  one  redeeming  act,  by  fixing  upon  it  a  price  so  outrageously 
enormous,  that  it  is  not  likely  to  do  immense  injury  by  its  circulation. 
To  foreign  authors,  and  to  the  good  sense  of  our  able  and  industrious 
fellow-citizens  in  correcting  and  improving  them,  we  owe  every  thing  we 
know  on  the  silk  culture. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  201 

berry;  1.  The  solid  or  fibrous  substance.  2.  The 
cokniring  matter.  3,  Water.  4.  The  saccharine 
substance.     5.  And  the  resinous  siibstance. 

"  The  fibrous  substance,  the  colouring  matter,  and 
the  water,  excepting  that  which  composes  the  body 
of  the  silk  worm,  cannot  be  said  to  be  nutritive  to 
that  insect.  The  saccharine  matter  is  that  which 
nourishes  the  insect,  that  enlarges  it,  and  forms  its 
animal  substance.  The  resinous  substance  is  that 
which,  separating  itself  gradually  from  the  leaf,  and 
attracted  by  the  animal  organization,  accumulates, 
clears  itself,  and  insensibly  fills  the  two  reservoirs,  or 
silk  vessels,  which  form  the  integral  parts  of  the  silk 
worm.  According  to  the  different  proportions  of  the 
elements  which  compose  the  leaf,  it  follows  that 
cases  may  occur,  in  which  a  greater  lueight  of  leaf 
may  yield  less  that  is  useful  to  the  silk  worm. 

'•  Thus  the  leaf  of  the  black  m,ulberry,  hard, 
harsh  and  tough,  produces  abundant  silk,  the  thread 
of  which  is  very  stroiig,  but  coarse.  The  tohite 
mulberry  leaf  of  the  tree  planted  in  high  lands,  ex- 
posed to  cold  dry  winds,  and  in  light  s,o\\,  produces  a 
large  quantity  of  strong  silk,  of  the  purest  and 
finest  quality.  The  leaf  of  the  same  tree,  planted 
in  damp  situations,  in  low  grounds,  or  in  a  stiff  soil, 
produces  less  silk,  and  of  a  quality  less  jnire  and 
fine.  The  less  nutritive  substance  the  leaf  contains, 
the  more  leaves  must  the  silk  worm  consume  to  com- 
plete its  development.  The  result  must,  therefore, 
be,  that  the  silk  worm  which  consumes  a  large  quan- 
tity of  leaves  that  are  not  nutritive,  must  be  more 
fatigued,  and  more  liable  to  disease,  than  the  insect 
that  eats  a  smaller  proportion  of  more  nutritive 
leaves.  The  same  may  be  said  of  those  leaves 
which,  containing  a  sufficiency  of  nutritive  matter, 
contain  little  resinous  substance ;  in  this  case  the 
insects  would  thrive  and  grow,  but  probably  would 
not  produce  either  a  thick  or  strong  cocoon  proportion 
ate  to  the  weight  of  the  worm." 

The  count,  however,  does  not  intend  us  to  under- 


202  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

Stand  this  without  some  hmitation,  as  appears  from 
the  following  remark :  "  the  quality  of  the  silk  does 
not  solely  depend  on  the  food,  but  also  on  the  degree 
of  temperature  in  which  the  silk  worm  has  been 
reare-1,"  And  soon  after,  he  expresses  himself  thus, 
"  notwithstanding  all  this,  my  experiments  prove, 
that  all  things  balanced,  the  qualities  of  the  soil  pro- 
duce but  a  very  slight  difierence  on  the  quality  of 
the  leaf:  that  which  will  appear  most  evident  is,  that 
the  principal  influential  cause  of  the  fineness  of  the 
silk  is  the  degree  of  temperature  in  which  the  silk 
worm  is  reared."  To  which  we  shall  take  the  liber- 
ty to  add,  with  the  risk  of  little  contradiction  on  the 
subject,  lastly,  to  the  care  with  which  the  little  spin- 
ners are  treated  throughout  the  whole  of  their  inte- 
resting economy.* 

2.  State  op  leaves  proper  for  feeding.  Not- 
withstanding all  silk-growers  that  have  favoured  us 
with  the  result  of  their  experience,  have  recommend- 
ed the  feeding  with  dry  leaves,  or  leaves  free  from 
both  dew  and  rain,  two  articles  appeared  in  the  Sep- 
tember number  of  the  Silk  Culturist  of  1837  aftirminar 


*  "The  following  is  the  result  of  my  experiments  on  the  leaves  of  the 
grafted  mulberry  tree. 

"  1.  One  hundred  ounces  of  leaves  nearly  ripe,  picked  on  the  same  day 
from  a  Tuscany  mulberry  tree,  produced  Ihirty  ounces  (dry  leaves) 
after  dessication. 

"  2.  One  hundred  ounces  of  the  leaves  of  the  giazzola  produced  thirty- 
one  ounces  and  a  half. 

"  3.  One  hundred  ounces  of  the  double-leaved  mulberry  produced 
thirty-six  uunces. 

"  4.  There  are  few  ripe  leaves  of  difTercnt  trees  which  contain  so  little 
liquid  as  those  of  the  mulberry  when  ripe  ;  while  on  tlie  contrary,  the 
young  leaf  of  this  tree  contains  much  licjuid. 

"  5.  One  hundred  ounces  of  the  yoimg  loaves,  such  as  are  given  to  the 
silk  worm  in  the  first  age,  weigh   loss   than   tii^euly-oiie  ounces  when 
dried  ;  thus  it  is  evident,  they  contain  almost  four-fifths  of  water.     This  ' 
abundance  of  li(iuid  accounts  for  the  very  great  evaporation  that  takes  I 
place   in    the  body  of  the  young  silk  worm,   in  the  first  and  second 
age."     Id. 

It  is  however  a  fact  that  some  writers  among  us  recommend  leaves 
partially  wilted  and  dry,  wliilo  others  alfinii  that  tliey  may  be  washed, 
the  water  wrung  out,  and  then  given  to  the  worms. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  203 

that  leaves  wet  with  either  were  innoxious  to  the 
insect,  and  not  prejudicial  to  the  cocoon.  Nothing, 
however,  can  be  more  contrary  to  the  advice  general- 
ly given  us  on  this  subject.  We  need  not  go  far  to 
find  precepts  of  this  nature  in  Count  Dandolo  ;  they 
run  throughout  his  whole  volume,  and  form  a  promi- 
nent article  of  his  creed.  One  is  now  immediately 
before  us,  "  These  insects  would  he  injured  by  eating; 
leaves  moist  ivith  either  dew  or  rain,'"  p.  33.  ''  The 
stripping  of  the  leaves  should  not  be  begun  before 
the  disappearance  of  the  dew,  and  ought  to  be  con- 
cluded before  the  setting  of  the  sun — it  is  all-impor- 
tant to  have  always  a  supply  of  dry  leaves.'^  Count 
de  Hazzi,  p.  65  and  67.  "  The  preservation  of  the 
health  of  silk  worms,  depends  essentially  on  the 
leaves  being  perfectly  dry  when  given  to  them. 
Wet  leaves  invariably  produce  a  diarrhoea."  Ma- 
nual published  by  order  of  Congress  182S,  p.  122.  It 
would  be  needless  to  multiply  authorities  on  this 
topic ;  they  are  everywhere,  except  in  the  two  ar- 
ticles already  mentioned  in  the  Silk  Culturist. 

But  there  are  other  accidents  that  may  render  a 
mulberry  leaf  unsuitable  to  the  insect.  "  The  worst 
leaf  that  can  be  given  to  the  silk  worm,  and  which 
always  injures  it,  is  that  which  is  covered  with  what 
is  termed  m,anna,  that  arises  from  the  diseased  state 
of  the  tree.  The  blighted  or  rust-spotted,  leaves  do 
not  injure.  The  worm  will  eat  this  leaf,  carefully 
avoiding  the  spots."* 

3.  Preserving  leaves.  Hence  to  avoid  these 
accidents,  and  to  supply  a  resource  for  rainy  days,  a 
stock  should  always  be  kept  on  hand  sufficient  for 
two  or  three  days  ;  during  which  they  may  be  kept 
without  prejudice  in  cool  places,  sheltered  from  the 
light,  but  not  too  dry ;  such  as  cellars,  storehouses, 

*  Dandolo,  p.  33.  "  Rusty  leaves  have  not  this  inconvenience,  be- 
cause the  worms  eat  only  the  healthy  portion."  C.  de  Hazzi,  p.  67. 
"  Even  when  leaves  become  mouldy  before  being  gathered,  we  need  not 
regret  it,  because  the  worm  eats  only  of  it  what  is  uninfected."  Mo- 
rin,  p.  27. 


204  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

brick  floors,  &c.  They  would  lose  their  freshness  in 
too  dry  a  place  and  might  rot  in  one  too  damp.  Se- 
parate with  care  the  wet  leaves,  and  those  affected 
Ijy  the  secretion  called  manna  ;*  dry  the  former  ;  the 
latter  reject.  They  should  not  be  heaped  up  too 
much  together,  nor  any  change  of  temperature  suf- 
fered in  the  leaf-store,  such  as  to  promote  fermenta- 
tion, to  which  they  will  be  liable  when  gathered  in 
very  warm  weather,  or  too  long  left  in  a  state  of 
compression  in  bags,  panniers,  or  baskets.  On  a  dry 
and  clean  brick  pavement,  turn  them  frequently  to 
new  and  dry  parts  of  the  floor,  and  expose  them  to 
the  action  of  the  air.  Count  de  Hazzi  says,  "  spread 
them  in  parcels  on  a  clean  linen  cloth  in  a  dry  room, 
stir  them  often,  with  a  rake  or  fork  ;  shake  the  cloth, 
and  the  leaves  will  soon  dry.  Dusty  leaves  must  be 
cleansed  with  clean  linen."  t  If  the  signs  of  the 
weather  be  watched  with  ordinary  vigilance,  much 
trouble,  however,  of  this  kind  may  be  avoided. 

4.  Mode  of  gathering  the  leaves.  Count 
Verri  recommends  to  pass  the  hands  from  the  lower 
parts  of  a  branch  to  the  top,  and  to  strip  the  tree  of 
its  leaves  upwards,  not  downwards,  as  the  latter 
mode  would  injure  the  buds.  This  should  be  parti- 
cularly enjoined  on  children  and  on  others  employed 
in  picking.  In  short,  the  whole  process  requires 
caution  to  prevent  the  trees,  especially  when  young, 
from  receiving  injury.  Nature  evidently  has  not  in- 
tended that  they  should  be  stripped  violently  of  their 

*  The  manna  is  a  disease  which  seldom  affects  the  mulberry  in  this 
climate,  but  the  information  may,  notwithstanding,  be  of  great  im- 
portance. 

j-  The  better  way  at  least  with  the  leaves  of  the  morus  multicaulis  is 
to  wash  leaves  which  become  dusty,  and  after  wringing  out  the  surplus 
water,  as  a  washerwoman  would  wring  a  cloth,  let  tliem  remain  thinly 
scattered  in  a  shady  dry  place  till  they  become  dry  of  the  excess  of 
water.  From  experiments  hereafter  to  be  adverted  to,  it  will  be  seen 
that  dried  leaves  are  used  in  some  places,  by  preparing  them  in  the  fall 
and  feeding  the  young  worms  with  them  before  the  tender  leaflets  have 
been  sufficiently  matured  in  the  spring.  Hence  we  conclude  that  if  the 
culled  leaves  are  properly  preserved  from  healing,  moulding,  ^rc,  what 
is  called  wilting  will  not  injure  them. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  205 

foliage.  In  the  event  of  having  hedges,  orchards  or 
other  plantations,  begin  by  pulling  the  leaves  of  the 
hedges;  then  proceed  to  the  young  trees,  when  it  is 
generally  prescribed  to  strip  each  completely,  for,  if 
any  leaves  remain  on  the  branches,  they  attract  the 
sap,  whilst  the  naked  branches  are  incompletely 
nourished.* 

5.    Repeated    defoliations.       On  this  subject 

*  So  far  as  this  inquiry  relates  to  the  muUlcaulis,  it  may  be  further 
observed,  that  the  leaves  must  be  plucked  carefully  so  as  not  to  injure  the 
bud ;  for  the  plant  is  nov?  of  such  value  that  one  bud  more  or  less 
makes  a  difference  with  the  purchaser ;  as  it  is  well  known  that  each 
bud  will  produce  a  tree  when  properly  planted  and  cultivated.  It  is 
generally  thought  too  that  leaves  perform  functions  for  vegetables  ana- 
logous to  that  of  lungs  for  animals.  Hence  it  is  recommended  not  to 
strip  the  mullicaulis  of  all  its  leaves  during  the  season,  at  least,  of  its 
growth.  Whilst  the  tree  commands  a  high  price  in  the  market,  not 
more  than  one  half  of  the  leaves  should  be  taken.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  when  the  plant  is  extensively  grown,  and  its  value  diminish- 
ed, it  will  be  allowable  to  cut  it  down  as  wanted,  and  pass  stalk,  limbs, 
and  leaves  through  a  cutting  machine  into  the  hurdles.  To  obviate  all 
doubts  under  present  circumstances  on  this  subject,  in  the  event  of  wish- 
ing to  raise  more  crops  of  silk  during  any  summer  than  one,  the  dilemma 
may  be  solved  by  feeding  the  second  or  any  successive  crops,  from  dif- 
ferent lots  of  trees  kept  for  that  purpose  on  the  same  estate. 

All  climbing  on  young  trees  must  be  avoided.  In  this  case,  the  use 
of  a  rolling  or  wheeling  ladder  is  recommended.  It  consists  of  two 
parts  ;  a  wheelbarrow,  the  legs  of  which  are  to  be  from  seven  to  eight 
feet  long,  straight,  somewhat  projecting  beyond  the  wheel,  and  connect- 
ed by  four  cross  sticks  ;  and  a  ladder  six  feet  long,  which  is  attached  to 
the  wheelbarrow  by  a  fourth  cross  stick.  With  this  apparatus,  a  single 
man  is  able  to  carry  several  bags  of  leaves.  The  ends  at  either  extre- 
mity must  be  pointed  with  iron.  It  forms  when  only  half  displayed  a 
double  ladder  in  the  form  of  a  triangle,  resting  on  the  ground,  from  its 
vertex  at  the  cross  sticks,  the  wheel  of  coarse  being  on  one  side,  then 
suspended  some  inches  above  the  ground.  When  opened  out  and  fully 
extended,  it  is  a  ladder  of  from  twelve  to  thirteen  feet  long.  The  leaf- 
bags  used  with  this  apparatus  must  be  hooped,  so  as  to  remain  open, 
and  ought  to  have  a  hook  to  be  hung  on  the  branches  ;  and  care  must 
be  taken  that  the  leaves,  to  keep  them  free  from  dust,  be  not  emptied  on 
the  ground.  When  conveyed  to  the  wheelbarrow  or  other  vehicle  they 
should  be  kept  sheltered  from  the  sun.  For  hedge  forms  and  shrub 
plantations,  as  for  the  mullicaulis,  much  of  this  trouble  and  expense  is 
unnecessary.  Yet  light  wheelbarrows  with  long  deep  bodies,  or  bodies 
with  outward  and  obliquely  projecting  railing,  will  be  found  to  be  pre- 
ferable to  a  heavy  cart,  in  transporting  leaves  to  the  cocoonery  or  leaf- 
store. 

IS 


206  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

Count  Dandolo  says,  "  the  mulberry  tree  should  only 
be  stripped  once  a  year,  and  that  crop  should  be 
gathered  so  as  to  allow  time  for  the  leaves  to  shoot 
again  before  the  cold  weather,  otherwise  the  tree 
would  shortly  die."  We  have  here,  however,  to  re- 
member, that  the  count's  precept  had  no  reference  to 
the  superior  energy  of  the  vegetative  principle  of  the 
multicaulis  ;  and  that  frequently  what  is  an  orthodox 
canon  in  European  agriculture,  is  nugatory  in  this 
climate  ;  we  must  travel  round  half  the  globe  before 
we  find  its  like  within  the  same  parallels  of  latitude  ; 
and  when  there,  we  shall  be,  as  here,  in  the  land  of 
silk.  For  the  mulberry,  multicaulis,  and  silk,  China 
is  the  only  American  pattern.  It  is  proper  to  hear 
another  witness  on  the  other  side  of  the  question. 

During  the  present  year,  experiments  have  been 
made  in  feeding  silk  worms,  and  gathering  the  foliage 
of  the  Chinese  mulberry,  several  times,  during  the 
season  of  feeding  ;  but  what  is  allowable  with  the 
white  mulberry  is  inadmissible  with  the  exotic.  It 
should  never  be  denuded  as  the  other  species  are  ; — 
never  more  than  one-third  when  young,  or  one- 
lialf  when  old.  That  this  practice  is  adopted  in 
China,  is  abundantly  evident  from  a  volume  of 
splendid  paintings  just  received,  from  a  gentleman 
who  has  for  years  been  conversant  with  that  coun- 
try. It  appears  from  these  paintings,  that  while 
feeding,  and  depriving  the  plants  of  foliage,  the  top- 
most shoots  must  be  carefully  preserved ;  but  when 
feeding  is  over,  it  is  then  proper  to  nip  off  the 
leading  shoots  to  promote  the  formation  of  Avood, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  season  head  doion  the  plant, 
the  stump  or  root  of  which  in  our  latitude  is  to  be 
slightly  covered  with  earth  during  the  winter. 

6.  Provisions  for  early  supply  of  leaves.  It 
is  generally  by  no  means  advisable  to  admit  the 
hatching  of  the  insects  until  the  early  spring  vegeta- 
tion of  the  mulberry  is  sufficiently  advanced  to  insure 
a  continued  supply  of  the  leaf;  in  which  case  no 


MULBEKRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  207 

earlier  resource  procured  artificially  is  desirable.  The 
cliuiates  in  this  country,  in  which  the  return  of  these 
seasons  may  be  calculated  on  with  tolerable  certainty, 
may  be  said  to  be  anywhere  to  the  south  of  the 
fortieth  degree  of  latitude.  To  the  north  of  this 
parallel  extraordinary  returns,  in  the  spring  season, 
of  unseasonable  frosts,  occasionally  exist,  retarding 
or  checking  the  movements  of  the  agriculturist.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  it  would  not  be  otherwise 
than  provident  to  be  ready  to  countervail  these  con- 
tingencies by  a  secondary  resource  obtained  artifi- 
cially. To  accomplish  this,  there  are  three  methods, 
one  by  the  green  leaf,  and  two  by  the  dry. 

Fh'st  method :  or  hy  the  green  leaf.  Let  a  mul- 
berry hedge  be  provided  in  a  warm  situation,  having 
a  southern  exposure,  and  on  the  north  and  north- 
western extremities,  well  protected,  by  buildings, 
plantations  or  woods.  Early  in  the  spring,  cover  the 
hedge,  with  platted  straw  or  matting,  to  protect  it  from 
the  frost  by  night.  Or,  as  the  worms  in  their  first 
age  consume  but  little,  a  garden  border  will  afford 
dimensions  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  Again,  we 
may  sow  the  seed  broad-cast  or  in  drills,  in  a  forcing 
border  or  hot  bed,  and  thus  obtain,  to  meet  the  first 
wants  of  the  insect,  an  early  resource  which  would 
be  valuable  in  the  event  of  temporary  disappoint- 
ment of  supply  in  the  ordinary  way. 

Second  method :  or  by  the  dry  leaf.  This  is  ac- 
complished simply  by  carefully  drying  and  preserving 
the  leaves  of  the  early  part  of  autumn  before  they 
begin  to  fall.  It  will  be  requisite  to  soak  them  in 
pure  water,  so  as  to  restore  to  them  nearly  the  same 
degree  of  moisture  they  had  on  the  tree,  and  after- 
wards to  dry  them  with  clean  linen  cloth,  before  they 
are  distributed  to  the  young  family  in  the  spring. 

Third  method :  by  leaf  powder.  The  leaves  for 
this  purpose  towards  the  close  of  summer  may  be 
taken  from  the  tree,  and  dried  so  effectually  as  to  ad- 
mit of  being  reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  and  after- 
wards preserved  during  the  winter.     In  the  spring, 


208  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

after  gently  sprinkling  with  water  as  much  of  this 
powder  as  may  be  wanted,  allow  it  slightly  to  ma- 
cerate or  acquire  general  moisture  ;  when  if  given  to 
the  early  hatch,  it  will  be  found  to  attack  this  powder 
with  an  avidity  not  perceptibly  differing  from  that 
with  which  it  would  consume  the  early  leaf 

§  2.  Renting  of  trees  or  selling  of  leaves.  Of 
the  "  division  of  labour,'"  in  the  parcelling  out  of 
industry  in  the  mass,  in  a  kind  of  retail  manipulation, 
we,  proud  mortals,  sometimes  boast,  as  if  it  were 
peculiar  to  civilized  society,  and  therefore  give  the 
term  a  sort  of  dignity,  by  heading  with  it  whole 
chapters  on  "  political  economy,"  as  if  that  too  were 
our  exclusive  property  ;  without  reflecting  that  both 
the  one  and  the  other  are  carried  out,  even  by  insect 
tribes,  in  all  their  beautiful  development.  There  is 
not  an  art,  a  fabric,  a  machine,  or  an  edifice  but  what 
exemplifies  it.  The  painter,  the  artist,  the  sculptor, 
the  maker  of  a  penknife  or  even  of  a  pin,  each  im- 
plies a  little  host  of  dependent  operatives  in  his  rear ; 
and  thus  what  would  be  an  impracticability  to  one, 
becomes  an  amusement  when  parcelled  out  in  social 
industry.  And  why  should  "silk"  either  in  the 
whole  extent  of  this  term,  or  in  any  part  of  it,  be 
supposed  to  require  any  more  difficult  manipulation. 
Let  us  contemplate,  for  a  moment,  the  wide  surface 
it  covers.  Here  is  a  leaf/  and  we  see  nothing  but 
it,  and  its  kindred  leaves  of  the  mulberry  tree — but 
there  is  a  silken  shawl  worn  by  a  queen  !  What 
metamorphosis  has  affected  this  ?  Ovid,  himself, 
with  all  his  imaginative  powers,  must  yield  to  this  : 
his  was  fancy,  ours  is  reality  :  the  leaves  of  a  tree 
are  the  silken  shawl  on  the  shoulders  of  a  queen  !  ! 
But  what  has  accomplished  all  this  ?  The  division 
of  labour  !  Ask  the  proprietor  of  the  orchard  ;  the 
horticnltnrist  that  raised  the  tree  ;  the  individual 
that  culled  the  leaves  ;  the  one  that  ministers  sus- 
tenance to  an  insect  that  boasts  of  nothing,  but  per- 
forms wonders,  inhabiting  a  building  furnished  with 
an  apparatus  both  made  by  others ;   another  that 


MULBERRY  LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  209 

patiently  waits  on  the  reel,  or  the  multitudes  attend- 
ing the  filature  ;  the  several  machinists  in  wood  and 
iron  ;  the  many  engaged  in  throwstitig,  dyeing,  weav- 
ing ;  tlie  merchant,  and  his  carriers  by  land  or  sea  to 
the  retail  dealer,  \\\Q  maker  of  the  shaivl ;  and  lastly, 
though  not  least,  the  laondrotis  insect,  without  whose 
toil  all  the  rest  were  vain;  and  then  the  ^^ unknown 
something^'  that  has  diif'used,  if  not  inspired  industry 
throughout  the  whole.  In  this  way,  and  in  no  other, 
we  arrive  from  the  mulberry  leaf  to  the  silken  shawl 
on  the  shoulders  of  a  queen.  Could  all  this  be  ac- 
complished by  one  ? — Impossible.  Thus  what  is  a 
mountain  to  one,  is  sportive  recreation  when  parti- 
tioned out  to  the  many  ;  and  thus  by  the  division  of 
labour  a  toil  becomes  a  pleasure. 

But  is  the  division  of  labour  the  child  of  man's  in- 
ventive ingenuity  ?  We  could  give  many  proofs, 
would  our  limits  allow,  to  show  that  this  is  by  no 
means  always  the  case.  Sometimes  it  has  cost  man- 
kind whole  centuries  to  find  out  what,  when  seen,  we 
all  wonder  was  not  for  ages  before  discovered  to  be 
the  most  simple  of  all  contrivances.  Rather  then  let 
it  be  ranked  as  the  creature  of  Providence,  with  which 
if  we  co-operate,  we  shall  be  a  blessing  to  the  world. 

Even  in  the  production  and  manufacture  of  silk, 
strange  to  say,  there  are  several  parts,  that  we  concede 
immediately  should  be  the  subjects  of  the  division  of 
labour ;  whilst  there  are  others,  that  Ave  have  not  yet, 
in  this  country,  an  adequate  idea  of  the  benefits  that 
would  result  to  society  were  they  equally  distributed. 
Often  to  him  that  supplies  the  land  for  the  culture  of 
the  tree,  it  would  be  an  inconvenience  to  attend  to 
the  production  of  silk.  To  another  that  grows  the 
trees  merely  for  sale,  the  tons  of  leaves  that  fall  in 
autumn  merely  to  manure  the  earth  that  might  be 
silk  to  enrich  the  nation,  are,  for  the  want  of  the  divi- 
sion of  labour,  a  serious  loss.  To  a  family  having 
only  partial  employment,  to  which  it  would  be,  on 
account  of  the  avocation  of  one  demanding  a  city  re- 
sidence, an  inconvenience  to  remove  to  an  orchard,  or 
18* 


210  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

to  a  situation  in  the  country,  merely  to  afTord  employ- 
ment to  the  minor  branches  of  the  family,  the  esta- 
blishment of  a  leaf-market  in  cities,  and  the  possi- 
bility of  rearing  silk-worms,  and  producing  and 
reeling  silk  in  the  otherwise  unemployed  apartments 
of  a  partially  occupied  house,  would  be  an  incalculable 
benefit.  By  which  means  too,  industry  might  be  af- 
forded to  thousands  of  the  young,  old,  infirm,  women, 
children,  and  others  incapable  of  hard  labour,  that 
inhabit  all  our  large  and  populous  cities,  who  thus, 
instead  of  being  idle  or  dissipated,  would  in  enriching 
themselves  as  surely  enrich  the  nation. 

Let  all  then  that  have  both  land  and  trees,  and  are 
willing  to  sustain  the  amusing  toil  of  five  weeks  in  the 
cocoonery,  comprise  this  much  of  the  general  produc- 
tion in  their  individual  enterprise.  As  for  the  rest, 
we  must  repair  to  France,  to  Italy,  to  Broosa,  or  to 
Turkey  and  Persia  generally  for  an  example;  and  we 
shall  there  find,  that  in  many  cases,  the  concern  of 
growing  trees  or  leaves  is  one  thing,  and  that  of  pro- 
ducing silk  another  ;*  that  the  one  is  the  business  of 
the  country,  the  other  of  the  town  :  and  that  the  con- 
nexion between  them  is  established  by  a  leaf-market. 
The  agriculturist  there  attends  to  avocations  peculiar 
to  the  former,  the  manufacturer  to  that  which  is  com- 
patible with  others  he  may  have  in  the  latter.  Leaves 
there  inhabit  the  forest  until  they  visit  the  market, 
where  silk  worms  are  citizens,  spare  apartments  are 
cocooneries,  and  towns  or  cities  are  the  busy  hives  of 
domestic  industry.! 

*  Several  years  since,  a  farmer  in  a  vicinity  not  far  from  Mansfield, 
(Conn.)  purchased  a  farm  on  which  were  standing  twelve  mulberry 
trees  of  full  growth.  Knowing  nothing  of  the  business  of  making  silk, 
he  supposed  them  to  be  of  no  more  than  the  ordinary  value  of  forest 
trees  for  fuel.  A  neighbour,  however,  soon  called  upon  him,  and  agreed 
to  pay  him  twelve  dollars  annually  for  the  privilege  of  picking  the  leaves. 
The  farmer,  to  his  astonishment,  found  that  the  twelve  mulberry  trees 
were  as  good  to  him  as  $200  at  six  per  cent,  interest. 

j"  We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  the  two  branches 
of  business  are  incompatible.  We  think  quite  otherwise,  more  espe- 
cially in  this  country ;  but  we  do  advocate  the  system  of  a  mulberry  leaf 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AXD    STATISTICS.  211 

We  learn  that  the  friend  of  a  gentleman,  now  resi- 
dent in  New  York,  in  the  year  1S07,  invited  him  "to 
visit  a  plantation  of  mulberry  trees,  which  he  had  just 
planted  at  Fontaine,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Lyons. 
Here  sixty  French  acres,  (about  seventy-five  English) 
had  just  been  set  out  with  trees  of  the  mulberry,  at 
the  rate  of  200  trees  to  the  French  acre.  About  six 
years  afterwards  he  was  again  invited  to  visit  the  plan- 
tation, at  the  time  the  leaves  were  fit  for  gathering  ; 
and  he  there  found  that  the  leaves  of  the  whole  plan- 
tation, or  of  about  10.000  trees,  had  just  been  sold  on 
the  trees  to  the  gatlierers,  for  one  franc  for  each  tree, 
or  about  §2000  for  the  whole. 

"These  gatherers,  {an  example  of  the  division  of 
labour,)  are  another  class,  who  come  at  limes  from 
remote  distances  with  their  whole  families  in  wagons, 
with  cooking  utensils  and  provisions,  with  ample 
means  for  the  purchase  of  the  leaves.  Shantees  or 
sheds  only,  for  their  accommodation,  are  provided  by 
the  owner.  It  is  particularly  understood,  however, 
that  the  leaves  at  the  tip  end  of  every  twig  are 
always  to  be  preserved,  to  draw  the  sap  and  preserve 
the  life  and  vigour  of  the  tree. 

"Four  years  after  he  was  invited  to  renew  his  visit, 
when  he  found  that  the  leaves  had  been  sold  on  the 
trees  for  three  francs  per  tree.  He  renewed  his  visit 
about  seven  years  after,  or  seventeen  years  from  the 
first  formation  of  the  plantation,  and  he  then  found 
that  the  leaves  had  been  sold  on  all  the  Wees,  for  five 
francs  per  tree,  or  for  about  SlO,000  for  the  whole; 
and  that  this  same  quantity,  or  more  would  be  annu- 
ally produced  for  a  long  course  of  years." 

Granting  that  these  trees  were  three  years  old  when 
planted,  and  consequently  nine  years  old  from  the 
seed  at  the  first  visit,  thirteen  years  old  at  the  second, 
and  twenty  years  old  at  the  third  ;  from  the  whole  of 
this  account  we  learn  as  follows  :     1.  That  in  France 


market,  as  being  especially  beneficial  to  citizens  in  moderate  circum- 
stances without  land. 


212  MULBERRY    LEAVES    ANll    STATISTICS. 

the  leaves  of  the  ivhite  mulberry  of  nine  years  old 
from  the  seed,  are  worth  one  franc,  about  twenty 
cents  per  tree  ;  at  thirteen  years  old,  sixty  cents  on 
the  average  per  tree  ;  and  at  twenty  years,  or  of  full 
growth  as  sometimes  said,  at  ^1  per  tree.  2.  Here 
are  seventy-five  acres,  and  they  yield  in  the  sixth 
year  after  planting  ^2000,  or  ^26. 66  per  acre  :  of  the 
intermediate  years  we  are  told  nothing,butin  the  tenth, 
they  yield  §6000,  or  ^SO  per  acre.  We  now,  by  the 
account  arrive  at  the  seventeenth  yearof  the  appropria- 
tion of  these  seventy-five  acres  to  a  plantation,  when 
they  yield  ^10,000,  or  §133.33  per  acre  for  a  crop  of 
leaves  only  !  How  valuable  then  are  leaves,  if  of  the 
mulberry,  even  without  fruit,  without  roots.  To  how 
many  other  kinds  of  crop*  could  an  acre  be  devoted, 
and  yield  a  profit  equal  to  an  income  from  mere 
leaves  ?  3.  We  are  told  that  this  rate  of  profit  the 
trees  would  maintain  for  "«  course  ofyeurs,'^  we  are 
not  told, however,  why  such  an  indefinite  expression  is 
used.  The  reason,  however,  is  self-evident,  and  stands 
thus;  if  the  trees  were  the  grafted  mulberry,  chiefly 
used  in  France,  it  is  true  that  they  would  thus  hold 
out  only  for  a  "  course  of  years^^  probably  not  more 
than  five.  This  is  all  the  benefit  oi grafting,  altering 
the  course  of  nature  by  art.  For  the  sake  of  some 
improvement  in  quality  or  quantity  for  a  short  time, 
It  is  rapid  destruction;  whereas  the  natural  not  artifi- 
cial mulberry,  will  improve,  propria  IMarte,  both  in 
quantity  and  quality,  as  it  groivs  older,  and  has  been 
found  exuberant  in  produce,  and  in  quality  more  ex- 
cellent than  its  juniors  at  the  venerable  age  of  three 
hundred  years.  4.  Here  are  ten  thousand  .y/a?iG?arrf 
trees  on  seventy-five  acres  :  hence,  in  France,  they 
plant  standards  at  eighteen  square  feet  between  every 
four  trees.! 

*  We  might  say  from  the  vine;  or  from  the  beet,  not  to  produce 
sugar,  which  requires  machinery',  but  to  fatten  cattle ;  but  this  depends 
an  circumstances,  and  right  management ;  and  this  is  not  the  place  to 
explain. 

-(■  A  writer  in  the  Silk  Culturist  inquires,  "Whether  farmers  cannot 
plant  trees,  and  let  them  out  to  poor  families  to  make  silk  on  sjiares. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  213 

§  3.  Leaf-Market.  We  know  that  these  are  regularly 
established  on  the  Continent,  not  only  of  Europe,  but 
of  Asia.  Time  and  limits  fail  to  give  all  the  examples; 
that  of  Broosa  is  enough.  There,  on  all  the  roads  and 
avenues  to  the  city  we  see  mules,  asses,  camels,  and 
other  means  of  conveyance  freighted  with  mulberry 
leaves  to  the  leaf-market  in  Broosa.  In  the  city 
itself,  we  see  nearly  every  family,  on  the  approach 
of  the  silk-raising  season,  on  the  move  to  clear,  and  to 
make  ready  for  the  labours  of  tho  silk  worm,  every 
spare  apartment  in  the  house.  Two-thirds,  three- 
fourths,  or  four-fifths  of  every  dwelling  is  a  cocoonery. 
And  where  is  the  difficulty  ?  In  the  town  there  is  the 
leaf-market  every  day  ;  and  in  the  house  there  are  the 
worms,  all  the  advantages  of  the  town  and  country 
are  combined,  without  the  disturbance  of  other  en- 
gagements, by  the  connecting  link,  the  leaf-market. 

And  it  is  evident  of  what  accommodation  and  ad- 
vantage this  would  be  to  all  parties.  That  to  the 
leaf-s^rower  admits  of  calculation.  M.  Bonafoux 
found  that  a  jourral  of  land  of  Piedmont  (four-fifths 
of  an  acre)  produced  from  multicaulis  cuttings*  of 
the  second  year,t  fifty  quintals.  That  is  about  five- 
ninths  of  a  pound  of  leaves  to  each  :  on  the  third  year 
from  the  time  the  cuttings  were  set  out,  the  same  trees 
produced  100  quintals  or  more  than  one  pound  of 

and  thereby  not  only  extend  the  culture  of  silk,  and  benefit  themselves, 
but  also  art'ord  a  livelihood  to  those  in  their  employ]  The  editor 
answers :  "  We  have  no  hesitation  in  answering  in  the  affirmative.  There 
are  few  farms  in  this  country  that  could  not  be  foiirfoldcd  in  value,  by 
adopting  this  course;  besides  giving  an  opportunity  to  the  industrious 
poor,  not  only  to  provide  for  the  present  wants  of  their  families,  but  to 
lay  up  something  in  store  for  the  day  of  adversity.  The  children  of 
poor  families  might  be  profitably  employed  in  picking  the  leaves,  and 
thus  contribute  much  towards  fheir  clothing  and  education.  Multitudes 
of  such  children  are,  instead  of  this,  nmning  about  the  streets  contract- 
ing habits  of  vice  and  immorality.  We  know  of  no  better  remedy  than 
the  one  suggested  by  our  correspondent."' 

*  Set  in  rows  two  and  a  half  feet  asunder,  and  in  the  rows  each  tree 
one  and  a  half  feet  apart;  i.  e.,  11, .537  cuttings  to  the  English  acre. 

-|-  A  quintal  is  equal  to  100  pounds.  On  the  jourral  of  land,  at  the 
rate  mentioned  of  setting,  there  would  be  9,229  cuttings  or  trees. 


214  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

leaves  each.  And  he  estimated  the  maximum  to 
which  they  would  attain  at  200  quintals,  (about 
25,000  pounds  of  leaves  to  the  English  acre,)  or 
about  two  and  two-thirds  of  a  pound  to  each  multi- 
caulis  tree  ;  which  at  eighty  cents*  per  quintal  of  100 
pounds,  would  be  equal  to  ^200  per  acre  to  the  Icaf- 
groiver  from  the  multicaulis  tree.  M.  Bonafoux 
further  calculates  that  these  250  quintals  of  multi- 
caulis leaves,  would  produce  312  pounds  of  reeled 
silk,  which  in  this  country  would  be,  at  least,  worth 
1^1560.  Hence  more  than  ^1300  are  to  be  gained  on 
the  250  quintals  grown  in  the  country,  by  the  fami- 
lies in  toivn  that  take  the  trouble  to  attend  the  worms, 
and  produce  the  silk. 

We  say  then,  on  account  of  the  thousands  of  wo- 
men, children,  aged, infirm,  and  otherwise  unemployed 
people,  inhabiting  Philadelphia,  New  York, Baltimore, 
and  all  our  large  and  populous  cities,  let  a  leaf-market 
be  established  in  each,  and  let  the  farmers  that  have 
the  ivisdom  to  enrich  their  hedges,  orchards  and  fields 
with  the  ivealth-giving  tree,  be  told  to  bring  their 
leaves  by  the  horse  load,  the  wagon  load,  the  boat 
load,  or  our  very  railroads  will  help  them;  and  then 
every  citizen  that  is  tied  by  his  duties  to  the  town,  but 
has  hands  to  spare  in  his  family,  and  apartments  in 
his  house  not  paying  rent,  will  provide  the  worms, 
buy  the  leaves,  and  put  all  in  requisition ;  and  our 
streets,  and  our  cities  will  be  filled  with  the  scenes  of 
activity,  marking  out  to  all  the  way  to  industry,  mo- 
rality and  wealth. 

§  4.  Statistics  relative  to  the  mulberry  tree. 
Both  theory  and  practice  have  reference  to  statis- 
tical consequences.  Mere  theory  often  contemplates 
them,  but  without  practice  arrives  at  erroneous  results. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  career  of  practice  entered  on 
without  previous  inquiry  of  a  statistical  character, 


*  A  quintal  of  leaves  sometimes  attains  more  than  this  in  the  leaf- 
markets  of  the  continent;  sixty-four  cents  per  quintal,  are  not  far  from 
the  average  price. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  215 

must  often  lead  into  a  dilemma  or  difficulty,  easily 
avoided  by  competent  information  of  this  nature  pre- 
viously acquired ;  and  when  this  is  the  legitimate 
proceed  of  the  experience  of  the  many,  the  eccentri- 
city of  extraordinary  cases  corrected  by  the  more  ac- 
curate report  of  the  majority,  we  have,  perhaps,  as 
great  an  indemnity  against  either  failure  or  incon- 
venience, in  the  development  of  our  practical  designs, 
as  the  nature  of  things  can  possibly  admit. 

So  long  as  the  silk,  or  any  other  business,  is,  in  de- 
sign, at  a  distance,  statistics  may  be  looked  upon  as 
something  abstract,  mathematical,  dry  or  uninterest- 
ing ;  but  precisely  as  we  approach  the  bourne,  where 
we  are  to  have  the  object  in  our  grasp,  the  case  be- 
comes altered,  until  statistics  appear  all-interesting, 
of  immense  consequence.  Statistics,  in  short,  in  all 
things,  are  too  little  studied.  Without  them,  theories, 
hypotheses,  schemes  and  systems,  in  art,  in  science,  or 
in  political  economy,  may  be  multiplied  numerous  as 
the  phantasms  of  the  kaleidoscope.  But  begin  with 
statistics,  the  true  gauge  and  barometer  of  conse- 
quences, and  theories,  hypotheses,  and  schemes  ex- 
plode by  the  legion,  and  leave  nothing  but  truth  in 
alto-relievo. 

Relative  to  the  silk  business,  no  inquiry  is  more 
common,  nor,  perhaps,  more  proper,  than  what  is  the 
weight  and  value  of  raw  silk  which  may  be  produced 
from  one  acre?  But  it  is  evident  that  this  question 
involves  several  others,  each  of  which  must  be 
answered  or  understood,  before  we  can  arrive  at  the 
correct  solution  of  this  important  problem.  As  1. 
What  weight  of  cocoons  will,  on  the  average,  yield 
one  pound  of  raw  silk  ?  2.  How  many  silk  worms, 
will,  generally,  produce  this  weight  of  cocoons  ?  And 
this  question  implies  at  least  three  subordinate  in- 
quiries relative  to  the  kind  of  silk  worm  employed, 
the  manner  with  which  it  is  attended,  and  the  leaf 
with  which  it  is  fed.  3.  What  weight  of  mulberry 
leaves  will  sustain  and  bring  to  maturity  this  number 
of  silk  worms  ?     This  again  is  another  question  that 


216  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

evidently  subdivides  into  as  many  branches  as  there 
are  species  and  varieties  of  the  mulberry.  4.  Tiien 
we  arrive  at  another  stage  of  the  investigation,  i.  e. 
what  weight  of  leaves  will  a  mulberry  tree  or  shrub, 
on  the  average,  produce,  at  all  ages,  from  a  few 
months  to  twenty  years ;  when,  if  it  be  the  grafted 
mulberry  it  is  said  to  be  at  its  maximum  yield :  very 
different,  however,  will  be  the  case,  if  it  has  not  had 
its  natural  youth  vitiated  by  the  artificial  device  of 
man,  worse  than  vaccine  inoculation.  And  here, 
again  to  answer  correctly,  we  must  attend  to  several 
important  distinctions ;  not  only  according  to  the 
several  species  and  varieties  of  the  mulberry,  but  also 
to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which  must  either  further  or 
retard  its  growth.  5.  How  many  such  trees  or  shrubs 
will  an  acre  contain ;  and  finally,  what  weight  of 
leaves  on  the  average,  in  each  case,  will  an  acre 
yield?  And  this  last  inquiry  depends  on  an  almost 
unlimited  variety  of  complex  distances,  that  of  be- 
tween the  rows  in  the  acre,  and  between  the  trees  in 
each  row,  as  well  as  the  distinction  to  be  priynarily 
entertained  in  the  mind  of  the  inquirer,  relative  to  the 
species  or  variety  of  the  silk-producing  tree,  and  the 
soil  that  fertilizes  it. 

The  wide  extent  of  surface  which  these  several 
questions,  with  their  subordinate  modifications,  evi- 
dently cover,  requires  that  the  general  inquiry,  for 
distinction  sake,  be  broken  down  into  its  proper  com- 
ponent parts ;  and  that  no  attempt  be  made  to  answer 
the  whole,  as  some  have  done,  en  masse  ;  and  there- 
fore, have  left  the  mist,  like  that  of  the  mock-sun  in 
the  sunless  climes  of  Iceland,  as  thick  at  the  end  of 
their  apparent  scrutiny  as  where  it  began.  We  shall 
take  up,  in  the  course  of  this  work,  seriati?n,  the 
whole  of  these  inquiries.  But  here,  immediately  after 
the  mulberry,  our  subject  is  leaves  ;  or  the  quantity 
of  them  in  weight,  which,  on  the  average,  accordiwg 
to  its  age,  may  be  expected  from  one  of  each  species 
or  variety  principally  cultivated,  or  from  one  acre 
charged  with  its  cultivation. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  217 

That  the  yield  in  foliage  of  a  white  mulberry 
sta?idard  of  twenty  years  old  is  from  150  to  200 
pounds  of  leaves,  is  universally  affirmed.*  The 
doubt,  then,  as  to  the  product  of  white  mulberries,  is 
not  here,  but  relative  to  those  of  minor  growth,  on 
which  egregious  discrepancy,  amongst  diflerent  authors 
exists.  My.  Cobb  tells  us  that  M.  d'Homerguet 
asserts!  that  a  white  mulberry  of  six  years  old,  will 
produce  thirty  pounds  of  leaves  !  This  assertion  re- 
appears in  the  first  edition  of  Mr.  Roberts'  manual, 
and  has  been  copied,  with  the  following  palpable 
contradiction  in  the  second  edition  of  that  work, 
"  The  Editor  of  this§  manual,  assumes  the  following  : 
it  being  the  best  result  at  which  his  mind  could  arrive 
after  the  most  careful  examination  of  various  authori- 
ties— that  is,  that  a  tree,  as  a  standard,  four  years  of 
age,  well  cultivated,  will  yield  twenty  pounds  of 
foliage,  that  at  six  years  of  age,  it  will  yield  thirty 
pounds  ;  and  that  if  planted  in  hedge  form,  an  acre 
of  land  will  yield  an  amount  of  leaves,  when  six  years 


*  Tliough  even  here,  authors  always  forget  to  ?ay,  whether  the  twenty 
years  be  reckoned  from  the  seed,  or  from  the  first  introduction  of  the  tree 
into  the  plantation  of  standards  :  an  ambiguity  which  has  frequently 
led  into  apparent  contradiction.  This  appears  to  have  been  first  af- 
firmed bv  Mr.  Bailiff  Hout,  of  Manheim,  in  his  memoir  submitted  to  the 
Agricultural  Society  of  the  Grand  Dutchy  of  Baden. 

j  We  quote  M.  d'Homergue,  whose  book  is  in  our  hands,  and  whose 
residence  is  at  our  door,  ou  the  mulberry  tree,  because  he  Ls  given  as 
authority  on  this  subject  by  several  recent  writers!  We  admit  this 
ven^  respectable  writer  as  good  authority  on  X\ie  filature.  He  is.  on  this 
branch  of  the  business,  quite  au  fait.  But  we  have  yet  to  be  assured  that 
he  is  a  safe  guide  on  some  other  branches  of  the  silk  culture,  because  his 
experience  is  quite  limited,  and  he  makes  no  pretension  to  any  but  one 
branch.  From  M.  d'Homergue,  however,  wc  have  received  many  at- 
tentions ;  and  on  the  Piedmontese  reel  and  filature  some  information, 
which  we  acknowledge  with  the  kindest  feelings.  But  when  we  see 
him  quoted  on  the  mulberry  tree,  as  a  practical  man,  we  suspect  that 
there  can  be  no  extensive  experience  among  those  who  do  so,  since 
they  demonstrate  to  us  that  they  are  unable  to  discriminate  between 
what  is  theory  and  what  practice. 

%  Page  40. 

§  "This  manual,"  first  edition.  "The  manual."  second  edition,  Balti- 
more, 1838. 

19 


218  MULBERIIY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

of  age,  more  than  equal  to  the  support  of  540,000 
worms:  that  is,  he  believes,  that  each  tree  at  four 
years  will  yield  four  pounds  of  leaves,  and  at  six 
years  will  yield  seven  pounds  of  leaves;  and  that  its 
capacity  to  yield  will  increase  by  the  time  the  hedge 
shall  have  attained  its  twentieth  year,  100  per  cent.  !"* 
From  the  whole  of  this  passage  we  are  edified  as  fol- 
lows :  "  each  tree  at  four  years  old  will  yield  four 
pounds  of  leaves,"  and  in  the  former  part  of  the  para- 
graph it  is  said  that  a  tree  of  the  same  age  will  pro- 
duce "twenty  pounds  of  leaves!"  Again,  "at  six 
years  it  will  yield  seven  pounds  of  leaves ;"  very  true, 
since  a  few  lines  above  we  are  informed  that  such  a 
tree  will  yield  thirty  pounds  of  leaves!  Should  we 
endeavour  to  find  a  salvo  to  resolve  this  gross  ambi- 
guity, it  must  be  from  the  phrase,  "  as  a  standard." 
The  one  tree  then  is  four  years  old  from  the  seed,  the 
other  four  years  from  the  time  it  became  a  stan- 
dard by  transplanting.  Allow  four  years  for  this.t 
and  the  same  for  the  tree  of  six  years,  and  we  then 
have,  that  a  white  mulberry  tree  of  four  years  old  from 
the  seed,  will  yield  four  pounds  of  leaves;  of  six  years, 
seven  pounds  ;  of  eight  years  from  the  seed,  twenty 
pounds  ;  of  ten  years,  thirty  pounds. 

But  how  far  is  this  corroborated  by  other  accounts? 
We  find  it  stated  by  the  same  author,t  that  "  one 
pound"  (of  silk)  was  produced  from  eight  trees, 
(white  mulberries)  eight  years  old  from  the  seed." 
Now,  as  it  requires  100  pounds  of  white  mulberry 
leaves  to  produce  one  pound  of  silk,  it  is  evident  that 
in  this  case,  these  eight  trees  bore  100  pounds  of 
leaves,  or  twelve  and  a  half,  each.  The  preceding 
statement  relative  to  a  tree  of  the  same  age,  was 
twenty  pounds.  The  mean  of  the  two  respecting  a 
white  mulberry  tree  of  eight  years  from  the  seed, 
therefore,  is  sixteen  pounds  of  leaves. 

*  How  extremely  indefinite  is  all  this.     100  per  cent,  on  what?  On 
the  first,  second,  or  on  what  other  year's  produce? 
■\  See  note,  page  17G. 
%  First  edition,  p.  32,  col.  1. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  219 

We  shall  now  quote  another  authority  found  on 
page  S,  vol.  I.  of  the  Silk  Grower.*  "  In  one  acre 
there  are,  43,650  square  feet.  1,210  trees  six  feet  by 
six,  on  one  acre ;  or  4,840  trees  one  and  a  half  feet  by 
six.  Each  Italian  inulherry  tree,  six  years  old,  ivill 
produce  six  pounds  of  leaves.  Fifty  pounds  of  leaves, 
(some  say  thirty-six)  will  feed  1,000  worms;  300 
cocoons  will  weigh  one  pound  ;  3,000  cocoons 
(ten  pounds)  make  one  pound  of  silk.  30,000  trees, 
six  years  old,  will  produce  180,000  pounds  of  leaves. 
The  above  calculation  is  made  on  the  white  mul- 
berry.^' 

From  the  whole  of  this  evidence,  we  come  to  the 
conclusion,  that  a  white  niidherry  tree  of 

Age.  lbs. 

4  years  from  the  seed  will  yield  4  of  leaves. 

6 7t 

8 12f 

10 20    

20 150   

Though  this  is  deduced  from  the  best  accounts 
extant  on  thi.'^  question,  it  can  only  be  regarded,  espe- 
cially when  difference  of  soil  is  considered,  as  an  ap- 
proximation, iDitil  the  attention  of  the  culturist  is 
more  particularly  directed,  to  derive  more  accurate 
averages  from  well  conducted  experiments  of  this 
nature. 

As  to  the  product  in  leaves  of  the  morus  multi- 
CAULis,  it  is  stated  in  an  article  of  the  Silk  Culturistf 
that  100  cuttings  of  the  first  year,  i.  e.,  within  a  few 
months  of  setting,  yielded  fifty-five  pounds  of  leaves; 
and  that  100  cuttings,  started  the  year  before,  pro- 
duced 150  pounds.  That  is,  at  the  rate  of  between 
eight  and  nine  ounces  for  the  former,  and  one  pound 

*   And  therefore  has  passed  the  revision  of  the  Messrs.  Cheney. 

\  "Each  tree  at  six  years  of  age,  with  the  best  cultivation,  will  pro- 
duce twelve  pounds  of  leaves."  Kenrick,  p.  88.  But  Mr.  Kenrick,  in 
common  with  others,  does  not  state  whether  this  if  six  years  from  the 
seed  or  from  planting.  If  the  former,  it  is  contradicted  by  several  other 
accounts,  but  more  consistent  with  them,  if  we  are  to  understand  it  in 
the  latter  sense. 

i,  December,  1835. 


220  MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS. 

and  a  half  for  the  latter.  We  have  besides  various 
other  evidence  relative  to  the  same  point,  now  before 
us,  too  voluminous  to  copy  in  detail.*  The  accounts 
as  to  first  year's  cutting  vary,  as  for  example ; 
seven,  eight,  eight,  nine,  nine,  twelve  ounces;  the 
mean  of  which  is  eight  and  five-sixths  ounces.  This 
compared  Vvnth  the  first  statement,  fifty-five  hun- 
dredths, or  eight  and  four-fifths  ounces,  will  fully 
warrant  us  in  quoting  that  the  average  yield  in  leaves 
of  a  multicaulis  cutting  of  the  first  year  is  above 
eight  ounces  or  half  a  pound.  But  the  mean  of  the 
evidence  we  have  before  ns,  relative  to  the  weight  of 
the  leaves  of  layers  of  the  first  year,  is  fourteen  and 
a  half  ounces.  We  may,  therefore,  safely  quote,  half 
a  pound  for  the  former,  and  three-quarters  of  a  pound 
for  the  latter. 

Amongst  the  several  thousand  pages,  in  the  many 
volumes  on  the  Silk  Culture,  that  we  have  examined, 
there  is  very  little  of  a  statistical  character,  relative  to 
the  average  product  in  leaves  of  a  multicaulis  tree  of 
the  second  yearns  groivth  ;  and  that  little  is  extremely 
discrepant  and  dissatisfactory.  Sufficient  attention,  it 
is  evident,  has  not  as  yet  been  paid  to  this  subject, 
though  it  constitutes  an  important  element  in  calcula- 
tions relative  to  the  silk  culture,  without  which  they 
must  be  comparatively  indefinite  and  vague.  We 
are  aware,  indeed,  of  all  that  might  be  said  concerning 
the  variable  productiveness  of  different  soils  and  cU- 
raates,  but  notwithstanding  this,  an  average,  a  mean, 
does  and  must  exist  in  this,  and  in  all  things,  and  this 
is  all  we  aim  at.  It  is  true,  that  this  cannot  accurately 
be  had  except  from  a  multitude  of  experiments ;  and 
until  these  can  be  made  and  their  mean  determined, 
we  had  rather  have  an  approximate  average  than 
have  none. 

It  was  originally  stated  in  the  Northampton  Courier, 
ihat  from  100  multicaulis  trees  of  the  second  year's 

»  See  Silk  Culturist,  pp.  71.  76.  130.  157;  vol.  III.  35.  Fessenden's 
Silk  Manual,  vol.  I.,  p.  110;  vol.  II.  p.  2. 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS,  221 

growth  150  pounds  of  leaves  were  obtained;  which 
is  one  and  a  half  pounds  per  tree.  This  was  after- 
wards copied  into  Fessenden's  Silk  Manual,  vol.  I. 
page  141 ;  and  also  into  the  Silk  Culturist,  vol.  I.  page 
71.  Yet  five  pages  after  in  the  latter  work  we  read, 
"  14,000  Chinese  plants  on  one  acre  of  two  years' 
growth  would  yield  35,000  pounds  of  foliage  ;"  that 
is  two  and  a  half  pounds  per  tree.  We  think  that 
this  latter  statement  is  erroneous  and  presumptive ; 
not  merely  because  it  differs  from  the  former,  but 
deals  so  much  in  round  numbers,  as  to  wear  on  the 
face  of  it  the  absence  of  actual  experiment  or  calcula- 
tion ;  and  until  better  evidence  can  be  adduced,  we 
are  inclined  to  say  that  a  multicaulis  tree  of  tbe  se- 
cond year's  growth  will  produce,  on  the  average  of 
trees,  soils,  and  climates,  two  pounds  of  leaves. 

But  what  a  wide  leap  have  we  from  two  pounds 
of  leaves,  or  even  from  two  and  a  half  pounds  on  the 
second  year,  to  fifteen  pounds  of  foliage  on  the  third 
year;  yet  at  page  32  of  the  last  edition  (183S)  of 
Mr.  Roberts'  Manual  we  read  "  we  assume  that  each 
of  these  trees  (multicaulis)  at  three  years  of  age,  if 
properly  cultivated,  and  not  despoiled  of  their  limbs 
will  yield  fifteen  pounds  of  foliage  !"  But  how  is 
this  series  to  be  accounted  for,  first  year,  one  half  or 
three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  leaves;  second  year,  two 
or  two  and  a  half  pounds ;  third  year,  fifteen  pounds. 
Mr.  Cheney  has  somewhere  intimated  that  the  ratio 
of  the  increase  of  the  multicaulis  in  successive  years, 
is  geometrical.  But  we  have  not  mathematics  suffi- 
cient to  discover  what  geometrical  ratio  exists  between 
three-quarters,  two,  and  fifteen ;  and  therefore  refer 
the  enigma  to  the  experimental  horticulturist  to  deci- 
pher. Were  it  allowable,  however,  to  go  on  the 
principle  of  a  geometrical  ratio,  until  matter  of  fact 
could  correct  the  series,  we  should  say  that  the  multi- 
caulis of  \\\Q  firat  year's  growth  that  produces  half  a 
pound  of  leaves,  would  on  the  6rco;««' yield  two  pounds, 
and  on  the  third,  eight  pounds;  whilst  another  that 
yielded  on  the  first  year  three-quarters  of  a  pound, 

19* 


222 


MULBERRY    LEAVES    AND    STATLSTICS, 


would  on  the  second  produce  two  and  a  quarter 
pounds,  and  on  the  third  nme  pounds.  And  this, 
how^ever,  hypothetical  it  is  at  present,  for  want  of 
facts  clearly  stated,  must  be,  will  eventually,  perhaps, 
be  found  to  be  not  far  from  the  truth. 

The  inquiry  relative  to  the  yield  of  foliage  per 
acre,  whether  of  the  morus  alba,  multicaulis,  or  of 
any  other  tree,  admits  of  as  many  answers,  as  it  is 
possible  to  divide,  without  injury  to  vegetation,  an 
acre  into  rows,  and  the  several  distances  from  each 
other  that  it  would  be  proper  to  set  the  trees  in  each 
row.  A  hundred  inquiries  of  this  kind  will  be  met, 
once  for  all,  by  the  following  table,  and  any  interme- 
diate cases  will  be  easily  calculated.  An  acre,  of 
course,  we  all  know,  is  any  piece  of  ground  that  con- 
tains exactly  4,840*  square  yards,  or  43,500*  square 
feet.  In  the  following  table  fractions  are  rejected, 
and  the  nearest  whole  number  taken. 

Table  showing  the  number  of  trees  or  plants  in  an 
acre  according  to  the  width  of  rows,  and  distances 
between  trees  or  plants  in  each  row. 


li. 

111 
1 

Number  of  feet  distant  from  tree  to  tree  in  each  row. 

I 
43560 

2    3 

4 

6 

9 

12 

15 

2904 
1452 
968 
726 
484 

18 
2420 

1210 



806 

20 

2178 
1089 

21780  14520 

10890 

7260 

4840  3630 

2 

21780 

10890 

7260 

5445 

3630 

2420  1815 

3 

14520 

7260 

4840 

3030 

2420 

1613  1210 

726 
544 
363 
242 
181 
145 
121 
108 

4 

10890 

5445 

3630 

2722 

1815 

1210 

907 

605 
403 

268 

6 

7260 

3630 

2420 

1815 

1210 

806 

605 

9 

4840 

2420 

1613 

1210 

806 

537 

403 

322 

242 
193 
161 
145 

12 

3630 

1815 

1210 

907 

605 

403 

302 

201 

15 

2904 

1452 

968 

726 

484 

322 

242 

161 
134 
121 

18 

2420 

1210 

806 

605 

403 

268 

201 

20 

2178 

1089 

726 

544 

363 

242  181 

One  acre  X  4  X30i=4840 ;  and  4S40  x  9=43560 


MULBERRY  LEAVES    AND    STATISTICS.  223 

The  use  of  this  table  will  be  readily  perceived  from 
an  example  or  two.  If  we  have  an  acre  set  with  the 
morns  alba  six  years  old,  three  feet  distant  from  one 
another  in  rows  six  feet  asunder ;  it  is  seen  by  the 
above  table  that  we  have  2,420  such  trees  on  the 
acre,  which  at  seven  pounds  of  leaves  each  will  pro- 
duce 16,940  pounds  of  leaves.  And  as  100  pounds 
of  leaves  of  the  Italian  mulberry  are  equal  to  one 
pound  of  silk,  we  are  warranted  to  expect  from  that 
acre  169  pounds  of  raw  silk. 

But,  if  the  acre  be  set  whh  the  multicaulis  of  the 
second  year's  growth  one  foot  distant  as  directed, 
from  one  another  in  rows  three  feet  asunder ;  we 
shall  have,  according  to  the  same  table,  14,520  trees 
on  the  acre,  which,  at  one  and  a  half  pounds  of  fo- 
hage  each,  will  produce  21.780  pounds  of  leaves ;  and 
since  of  the  multicaulis  eighty  pounds  of  leaves  are 
equal  to  one  pound  of  silk,  we  may  expect  from  the 
acre  272  pounds  of  silk;  or  103  pounds  more  than 
from  the  acre  of  the  morus  alba  of  six  years'  growth 
set  as  described. 


PART   III. 

ON    THE    SILK    WORM. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON     THE     SILK    WORM,     GENUS,     SPECIES,     VARIETIES. 

The  silk  worm,  or  bombyx  mori*  is  one  of  the  va- 
rious familiest  of  caterpillars,  that  pass  through 
several  transformations  into  their  final  state,  the 
moth  or  butterfly.  All  such  caterpillars  are  of  the 
lepidoptera:}:  order§  of  insects  ;  and  of  these,  all 
that  have  four  wings  in  their  moth  or  butterfly  state 
are  capable  of  producing  silk. 

Of  insects  generally,  it  is  proper  here  to  state,  that 
when  they  issue  from  the  e^z,  they  are  by  naturalists 
called  LARVA  ;  but  in  common  language,  according  to 

*  Bombyx  mori,  the  silk  worm  of  the  mulberry  tree ;  a  proper  dis- 
tinction, since  there  are  caterpillars  producing  silk  from  the  cypress, 
fir,  ash  and  oak,  according  to  Pliny,  D'Incarville  and  others. 

"t"  As  the  carpenter  caterpillar,  the  goat-moth,  earth-mason  caterpillar, 
tent-maker,  stone  mason  caterpillar,  leaf-miner,  bark-miner,  gipsey-moth, 
tiger-moth,  puss-moth,  golden-tail  moth,  spinning  caterpillar,  silk  worms 
of  several  varieties,  &c. 

i  Ai-rii,  iJo;,  scale,  flake,  and  itts^jv,  wing ;  xirtSoTrTi^x  scale,  or  flake- 
winged. 

§  One  of  the  twelve  orders  of  insects,  viz.:  1.  Cohoptera,  from  x'-xeoc, 
a  sheath,  and  tts^&v,  a  wing,  sheath-winged ;  as  beetles,  <fec.  2.  Strepsiptera, 
from  ^•T^^^f./c,  a  turning  or  folding,  and  TrTi^'.v,  folding-wings ,-  as  s/i/hps, 
xenos,  &c.  3.  Dermaptera,  from  h^ixt,  skin,  leather,  and  tts§:v,  leutlter- 
winged,  as  earwigs,  <fec.  4.  Orthoptera,  from  o^Scc  straight,  and  Trrs^iv, 
straight-winged ;  as  cockroaches,  locusts,  grasshoppers.  5.  Hemiptera, 
irom  yi/ui^u;,  half,  and  tts^sv,  half-winged ;  as,  field-bugs,  cicada,  water- 
boatmen,  &c.  6.  Trichiiptera,  from  d^ti-r^i^ot,  hair,  and  ttts^ov,  hair- 
winged;  as,  the  flies  produced  by  the  various  kinds  of  caseworms.  7. 
Lepidoptera,  as  already  Ae^niheA,  flake-winged.  8.  Hi/meiwptera,  from 
C/M)/,  a  membrane,  and  Trtiej-v,  niernbranenas-winged ;   as  bees,  wasps. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  225 

the  genus,  species,  &c.  caterpillar,  grub,  ox  maggot.* 
Larvae  are  remarkably  small  at  first,  but  grow  rapidly. 
Some  larvae  have  feet,  others  are  without;  none  have 
wings,  neither  can  they  propagate.  Tliey  feed  vora- 
ciously on  coarse  substances,  and  as  they  increase  in 
size,  they  cast  their  skin,  three  or  four  times ;  until 
finally  they  undergo  a  complete  change  of  form,  and 
with  a  few  exceptions,  cease  to  eat,  and  remain 
nearly  motionless.  When  an  insect,  after  this  change, 
does  not  lose  its  legs,  or  continues  to  eat  and  move, 
it  is  commonly  called  a  nymph;  but  when  the  inner 
skin  of  the  larva  is  converted  into  a  membranous  or 
leathery  covering,  which  wraps  the  insect  closely  up 
like  a  mummy,  it  is  termed  pupa,  from  its  resemblance 
to  an  infant  in  swaddling  bands.  From  the  pupae 
of  many  of  the  butterflies  appearing  gilt  as  if  with 
gold,  the  Greeks  called  them  chrysalides ;  (chry- 
salis in  the  singular;)  and  the  Romans,  for  the  same 
reason,  aurelise;  and  hence  natm*alists  frequently  call 
a  pupa,  chrysalis  or  aurelia,  even  when  it  is  not 
gilt.  Hence,  pupa,  chrysalis  and  aurelia  are  synony- 
mous, and  signify  the  same  state.  After  a  certain 
time,  the  insect  which  has  remained  in  its  pupa-case 
or  cocoon,  is  gradually  preparing  for  its  final  change, 
when  it  takes  the  form  of  a  perfect  insect.  This  state 
was  called  by  Linnaeus  imago,  because  the  insect 
having  thrown  ofi'  its  larva  (mask)  becomes  a  perfect 
im,age  of  its  species.  Of  some  this  last  portion  of 
their  existence  is  very  short ;  others  live  through  a 


9.  Neuroptera,imm.  vsv^cv,  a  nerve,  and  TTTii^ov,  nerve-winged;  as  dra- 
gon-flies, antlions,  ephemera,  <fcc.  10.  Dipt  era,  from  it;,  twice,  and 
TTTf^sv,  two-winged,  ^.sgnaXs,  &c.  11.  Aphaniptera,  from  apavii?,  obscure, 
and  TTTie'-^y,  obscure-winged.  12.  Aptera,  from  a  privative,  and  ^ts^sv, 
without  wings,  or  wingless,  as  mites,  lice,  &c. 

*  The  distinction  in  common  language,  properly  is,  that  caterpillars 
are  produced  from  the  eggs  of  moths  or  butterflies ;  grubs,  from  the  eggs 
of  beetles,  bees,  wasps,  &c. ;  and  magguts,  which  are  without  feet,  from 
blow-flies,  house-flies,  cheese-flies,  &c.  Maggots  are  also  sometimes 
called  worms ,-  but  the  common  earth-worm  is  not  a  larva,  nor  is  it  by 
modern  naturalists  ranked  amongst  insects.  It  is  properly  a  reptile,  a 
creature  that  creeps  but  nexeijlies. 


226  THE    SILK    WORM. 

year,  and  some  exist  even  for  longer  periods.  They 
then  feed,  at  most,  hghtly,  some  not  at  all,  but  never 
increase  in  size.  The  chief  object  of  that  state  is  the 
reproduction  of  their  species.  The  ova  are  deposited, 
and  then  the  greater  number  speedily  die.  Hence, 
such  an  insect  exists  in  four  distinct  states  ;  it  is,  1.  an 
ovu7n ;  2.  a  larva;  3.  a  chrysalis;  and,  4.  the  imago, 
butterfly  or  moth. 

The  CATERPILLAR  is  a  cold-blooded  insect ;  has  no 
heart,  but  a  substitute  in  a  long  tubular  dorsal-vessel 
running  along  its  back,  and  pulsating  from  twenty  to 
120  times  a  minute,  by  means  rather  of  a  lymph  than 
blood,  but  performing  a  function  analogous  to  the 
former.  It  has  no  brain  ;  and  the  nerves,  which  are 
few,  are  called  ganglions,  from  being  united  in  little 
knobs.  They  breathe  through  spiracula,  or  air-ori- 
fices, the  number  of  which  varies  according  to  their 
species.  The  spinning  apparatus,  usually  consisting 
of  two  parts,  is  placed  near  the  mouth,*  which  are  a 
part  of  the  silk  bags,  tliat  in  some  caterpillars  are 
long,  in  others  comparatively  short,  but  usually  slen- 
der, floating  vessels,  containing  a  liquid  gum.  These 
bags  are  of  ditferent  shapes,  as  well  as  lengths,  but 
are  generally  convoluted  sacks  closed  at  one  extre- 
mity, and  opening  at  the  spinneret,  larger  towards  the 
middle,  and  smaller  towards  the  head.  Their  length, 
as  in  the  silk  worm,  is  often  several  times  that  of  the 
body ;  and  the  silk  is  ejected  by  a  kind  of  peristaltic 
motion.! 

*  Other  insects  spin  silk  from  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  body.  In 
the  great  water-beetle  (Hydrophikis  piccus)  that  extremity  is  furnished 
with  two  spinnerets  with  which  it  spins  its  egg-pouch.  The  larva  of  the 
myrmeleon  spins  a  cocoon  in  a  similar  manner,  but  differs  remarkably 
in  having  the  silk  secrctor  in  the  rectum.  Thi^  web  of  the  spider  is  also 
a  kind  of  silk,  singular  for  its  extreme  lightness  and  tenuity.  It  is  the 
proceed  of  four  anal  spinerets  which  never  vary  in  number. 

■\  "  Caterpillars  have  a  long  body,  more  or  less  cylindrical,  which  is 
formed  in  its  length  oi twelve  metubranous  parallfl  rintrn  ,-  which  in  the 
movements  of  the  animal  mutually  contract  and  elongate  They  have 
uniformly  a  sca/t/  /learl,  of  a  substance  similar  to  horn,  provided  with  two 
strong  jaws,  formed  like  a  saw,  which  are  moved  horizontally,  and  not 
upwards  or  downwards  as  in  animals  of  red  blood.     They  have  never 


THE    SILK    WORM.  227 

The  larva  of  the  bombyx  mori,  when  full  grown, 
seeks  a  place,  as  it  were,  of  concealment,  where  it 
commences  spinning  its  habitation;  a  protection  as 
well  for  its  present  as  for  its  future  state,  that  of  the 
pupa,  to  which  it  approaches,  at  once  against  the 
changes  of  the  season  and  the  attacks  of  its  enemies. 
In  this  operation,  it  throws  the  liquid  fluid  or  gum 
through  the  silk  secretors,  which  are  two  orifices, 
passing  from  silk  bags  in  its  lower  part,  and  extending, 
M'ith  many  convolutions,  to  the  other  extremity  of 
its  body.  These  two  apertures  have  been  long  sup- 
posed to  be  separated,  and  that  each  filament  or  fibre 
of  silk  was  double;  but  recent  investigation  authorizes 
the  inference  that  they  unite  at  the  point  of  contact 
with  the  atmosphere.  These  orifices  are  like  wire 
drawing  machines,  which  graduate  the  diameter  of 
the  fibre  ;  and  the  gum  bags  are  capable  of  discharg- 
ing all  their  contents  in  the  elaboration  of  the  cocoon. 
The  silk  secretors  of  the  caterpillar  of  the  bombyx 
mori,  are  said  to  be  provided  with  glands,  by  Avhich 
the  juices  of  the  mulberry  leaf  are  discussed  and 
secreted,  so  as  to  supply  the  different  organs  without 
■any  admixture  of  other  ingredients.*     Without  this, 

fewer  than  eight  feet,  and  never  more  than  sixteen.  The  six  first  formed 
of  a  scaly  substance  i^nilar  to  that  of  the  head,  are  fixed  under  the 
three  first  rincrs  and  can  neither  be  sensibly  shortened  nor  lengthened. 
The  others,  whether  two,  four,  six,  eight,  or  ten  in  number,  are  flexible, 
and  attached  in  pairs  to  the  back  part  of  the  body,  under  their  corres- 
ponding rings.  These  last  legs  are  those  which  transport  the  animal. 
They  are  provided  with  little  hooks,  calculated  to  give  it  support  in 
cUmbing.  All  the  hinder  legs  disappear,  of  whatever  kind  the  cater- 
pillar may  be,  when  it  changes  into  a  butterfly,  and  there  remain  only 
six.  Caterpillars  breathe  by  eighteen  apertures,  and  situated  nine  on 
each  side  of  the  bodj-.  Each  of  these  openings  is  considered  as  the  ter- 
mination of  a  particular  windpipe.  Some  have  a  smooth  skin,  as  the 
silk  worm,  others  are  rough ;  and  some  have  a  skin  either  partially  or 
wholly  of  velvet ;  and  others  with  hair  or  bristles  of  various  colours. 
A.  great  number  of  caterpillars  have  eyes,  some  of  them  are  utterly 
blind,  but  they  attain  the  power  of  vision  when  they  become  butterflies." 
Count  Dandolo. 

*  According  to  Ramdohr,  these  secretors  consist  of  two  transparent 
membranes,  between  which  flows  a  yellow,  limpid  jell}'.  The  longer  the 
secretors,  the  greater  is  the  quantity  of  silk  expended  by  tJ?  9  insect  in 
the  construction  of  its  cocoon. 


228  THE    SILK    WORM. 

the  silk  would  not  be  of  the  quality  and  texture  in 
which  it  is  found. 

The  same  cause  that  makes  a  crab  or  lobster  throw 
off  its  shell,  compels  the  caterpillar,  at  stated  times,  to 
throw  off  its  exuvias.  As  it  increases  in  size,  its  skin 
becomes  rigid  and  tense.  It  is,  to  borrow  a  phrase, 
"hide-bound."  Confined  by  a  skin,  which  is  desti- 
tute of  any  elasticity  proportioned  to  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  its  dimensions,  it  becomes  embarrassed,  lan- 
guid, rejects  food,  from  partaking  which  it  feels  an 
increase  of  suflering;  and  making  a  few  struggles, 
the  old  skin  yields,  and  the  regenerated  larva  disen- 
thralled, swells  into  an  enlarged  size  before  the  new 
envelope  becomes  of  a  hardness  such  as  to  resist  its 
further  growth.  Whilst  the  new  skin  is  acquiring  the 
inelastic  consistency  of  the  one  just  rejected,  the  cater- 
pillar eats  with  voracity.  This,  however,  as  before, 
is  arrested,  by  the  unyielding  tension  of  its  new  suit, 
before  it  has  acquired  maturity ;  and  hence  the  re- 
peated transformations,  or  moullings,  as  they  are 
called,  to  which  it  is  subject,  in  its  advance  to  the 
ultimate  object  and  fruition  of  its  being. 

When  the  larva  of  the  bombyx  mori  attains  its 
full  size,  it  ceases  to  eat,  and  instinctively*  ])repares 
a  covering  to  protect  it  from  the  rain,  and  from  either 
birds  or  insects  that  would  otherwise  devour  it.  For 
nature  ordains  it  to  work  under  trees ;  and  it  never 
changes  its  mode  of  operation  whenever  permitted 
to  work  without  artificial  control.  In  building  a  co- 
coon, it  encloses  itself  in  three  coverings.  1.  With  a 
floss;  2.  With  silk;  and  3.  With  gum,  with  which 
last,  it  lines  the  inside  of  the  cocoon,  except  at  one 
end,  which  it  only  partially  closes,  and  that  end  is 
where  it  will  have,  from  the  position  of  its  body, 

*  Instinct  alone  is  a  univorse  of  wonders ;  who  can  adequately  de- 
velopc  it ! !  Visigoths  they  must  be,  who  never  trace  instinct  to  the 
exhaustiess  source  of  iniinite  and  eternal  intellig-ence.  That  which 
launches  a  planet  through  the  iilimitable  void  of  sether,  guides  an  insect 
over  a  leaf! !  And  shall  this  be  done  every  day,  and  we  never  derive 
the  inestimable  inference  1 


THE    SILK    WORM.  229 

neither  inconvenience  nor  obstruction  when  the  period 
arrives  for  it  to  make  its  egress. 

The  cocoon  being  constructed,  according  to  the 
inimitable  rules  of  insect  art,  the  larva  disengages 
itself  of  its  fourth  skin,  and  enters  the  aurelia  or 
chf'i/salis  state.  A  new  state  of  existence  is  soon  to 
be  entered  on.  To  this  end,  the  insect  taught  by  a 
wisdom  that  is  inscrutable,  but  that  can  disseminate 
itself  to  an  atom,  throws  off  her  skin,  with  the  head 
and  jaws  attached  to  it ;  and  the  new  skin  immedi- 
ately hardens  into  a  leathery  hide.  This  again,  gives 
way  to  a  new  form,  whilst  the  moth  is  gradually 
unfolding  itself,  and  the  wings,  the  legs,  and  the  an- 
tenna acquiring  strength  and  firmness.  In  ten  or 
twelve  days,  the  chrysalis  swells,  bursts,  and  the 
moth  struggles  out  of  its  leathern  envelope  into  the 
chamber  of  the  cocoon.  This  being  accomplished, 
the  bombyx  mori  extends  its  antennae,  together  with 
its  head  and  feet  towards  the  point  of  the  cocoon, 
which,  as  already  observed,  is  less  secure,  and  thence 
emerges  into  day,  leaving  the  head  and  entire  skin 
of  the  late  caterpillar,  having  the  resemblance  of  a 
heap  of  foul  linen,*  in  the  antichamber  from  which 
it  retires.t  We  now  have  a  new  creature,  the  worm, 
or  caterpillar,  has  become  a  moth,  a  butterfly ;  a  rep- 
tile that  crept  on  earth  is  furnished  with  wings  to 
float  in  air  !J 

*  Spectacle  de  la  Nature ;  Count  Dandolo  and  others. 

f  It  is  supposed  by  some,  that  the  moth,  before  it  escapes  from  the 
cocoon  uses  an  acid  to  dissolve  the  gum,  with  which  it  had  coated  the 
interior  of  the  cocoon.  The  end  of  the  cocoon  is  observed  to  be  wet 
for  several  hours  before  its  egress.  It  is  the  middle  portion  of  the 
cocoon  that  is  unwound  in  the  filature.  The  outer  Jloss,  called  Jloretta, 
answers  purposes  in  manufacture  when  prepared  as  cotton. 

i-  The  Hindoos  took  their  notion  of  the  metempsvchosis  from  the 
transformations  of  caterpillars.  These  changes  afford  a  natural  argu- 
ment f(jr  the  transmigration  of  souls.  "  What  more  probable,"  says  a 
writer  on  entomology,  •'  than  that  its  apparent  resurrection  into  life, 
should  be  owing  to  its  receiving  for  tenant  the  soul  of  some  criminal 
doomed  to  animate  an  insect  of  similar  habits  with  those  which  has  de- 
filed the  human  tenement"  In  the  Institute  of  Menu  we  find  a  grade 
of  crimes  and  punishments ;  some  of  which  are  as  follows.  "  A  priest 
who  had  druiik  wine,  shall  migrate  into  a  moth  or  fly,  feeding  upon  or- 
20 


230  THE    SILK    WORM. 

The  worm  commonly  employed  in  the  production 
of  silk,  is,  by  Count  Dandolo,  called,  the  silk  worm 
OF  FOUR  MOULTiNGs,  of  wliicli  he  immediately  men- 
tions two  varieties.  1.  Those  that  form  a  straw- 
coloured  cocoon;  and  2.  Those  that  produce  the  deep 
yellow  cocoon ;  and  gives  the  preference  to  the  former; 
stating  that  "  it  requires  twenty  pounds  and  three- 
fourths  of  leaves*  to  obtain  one  and  a  half  pounds  of 
cocoons;"  which  is  at  the  rate  of  thirteen  pounds 
thirteen  ounces  and  one-third  to  one  pound  of  cocoons. 
He  mentions,  however,  three  other  species. 

1.    The    SMALL    silk  worm    of    three    MOULTINGS. 

Of  these  he  observes,  "  the  eggs  of  this  species  weigh 
one-eleventh  less  than  the  eggs  of  the  common  silk 
worm,  39,168  of  the  latter  forming  an  ounce,  while 
42,260  of  the  smaller  are  required  to  make  that 
weight.  The  silk  worms  and  cocoons  of  this  species 
are  two-fifths  smaller  than  those  of  the  common  sort." 
He  adds  that  these  cocoons  are  composed  of  finer  and 
more  beautiful  silk,  and  that  400  of  them  weighed  one 
pound,  whilst  240  pounds  of  the  common  weighed 
the  same.  The  count  elsewhere  acknowledges  the 
general  preference  to  be  for  the  common  worm, 
though  he  himself  is  evidently  inclined  in  favour  of 
the  small;  but  the  reasons  he  assigned,  countervailed 
as  tliey  are  by  others,  do  not  appear  to  be  decisive, 
though  the  culture  of  the  species  may  deserve  the 
attention  of  the  experimentalist. 

2.  The  large  silk  worm  of  four  moultings. 
The  eggs  of  this  species,  the  count  obtained  from 
Friuli.  The  eggs  were  only  one-fiftieth  more  in 
weight,  or  37,440  to  the  ounce.  One  hundred  of  their 
cocoons  weighed  one  pound ;  and  twelve  pounds  and 
a  half  of  leaves  yielded  one  pound  of  cocoons  ;  but 
the  coarseness  of  the  silk,  and  the  other  objections 

dure.  He  who  steals  the  gold  of  a  priest,  shall  pass  a  thousand  times 
into  bodies  of  spiders.  The  man  who  shall  steal  honey,  shall  migrate 
into  a  great  stinging  gnat ;  but  he  who  shall  steal  oil,  into  an  oil-drink- 
ing ichneumon  fly." 

*  Of  the  wliite  mulberry. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  231 

specified  by  the  author  counterbalance  any  advan- 
tages derivable  from  the  preceding  considerations. 

3.  The  WORMS  that  produce  white  silk.  With 
respect  to  this  species  he  says,  "  I  have  raised  a  large 
quantity  of  these,  and  found  them  in  all  respects 
equal  to  the  common  silk  worms  of  four  moultings. 
If  I  raised  silk  worms  for  the  purpose  of  spinning  the 
silk  myself,  I  would  cultivate  only  the  silk  worm  of 
three  moultings,  and  those  that  produce  white  silk,  as 
preferable  to  any  other ;  and  every  year  I  would 
choose  the  whitest  and  finest  cocoons,  to  prevent  the 
degeneration  of  the  species."  This  kind  was  intro- 
duced into  France  about  the  year  17S3,  and  is  there 
highly  esteemed;  but  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  same 
that  we  have,  under  the  name  of  the  '■Hohite  worin^'* 
as  it  produces  two  crops  in  a  season.* 

To  the  species  enumerated  by  Dandolo,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  add  : 

4.  The  DARK    DRAB    COLOURED  WORM.     Thls  SpCCicS 

is  very  common  in  the  United  States.  They  are 
commonly  called  the  "Z>/acA;"  worm.  They  live  lon- 
ger, and  make  a  greater  quantity  of  silk  than  the 
larger  white  worms. 

•  It  appears  from  this,  and  other  evidence  before  us,  that  we  are  not 
yet  warranted  in  pronouncing,  as  some  have  done,  the  two  crop  silk 
WORM  as  a  species  distinct  from  the  third  species  mentioned  by  Dan- 
dolo. If  the  kind  which  he  designates  merely  by  the  term,  "  tht  worms 
that  produce  white  silk,  and  the  two  crop  silk  worm  be  identical,  the 
name  might  be  altered  to  the  two  crop  white  silk  worm.  In  Tuscany 
they  make  two  crops  of  silk  annually.  The  two  crops  are  obtained  by 
a  peculiar  species  of  silk  worm  called  the  "  two  crop  worm,"  or  "  white 
ivorm."  This  worm,  hatched  at  the  usual  season,  will  finish  its  cocoon, 
and  deposit  eggs  admitting  of  being  hatched  and  raising  cocoons  during 
the  continuance  of  the  same  season.  This  two  crop  kind  moults  five 
times,  not  three,  as  has  been  said.  We  shall  meet  with  an  account  of 
an  interesting  experiment  with  this  species  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  by  Mr. 
Chew,  in  the  Silk  Culturist  for  November,  1837.  In  Windham  county, 
Connecticut,  it  is  also  well  known  that  there  is  a  small  pale  ivhite  worm, 
which  eats  but  twenty  days,  and  produces  fine  white  silk,  though  in 
less  quantity  than  either  the  common  lartfc  pale  white,  or  the  dark  co- 
loured worm ,-  but  it  has  the  good  quality  of  retaining  its  clean  white 
colour,  and  does  not  turn  yellow  by  washing,  or  by  exposure  to  the  sun 
and  air.     These  worms  produce  also  two  crops. 


232  THE    SILK    WORM. 

5.  Silk  worms  op  eight  crops.*  Of  these,  there 
are  two  varieties,  as  appears  hy  the  following  state- 
ment. Lord  Valenciat  found  at  Jungepore,  in  Bengal, 
a  species  of  silk  worm,  supposed  to  be  indigenous, 
called  "r/«c^3/,"  producing  eight  crops  of  silk  the 
year.  He  also  found  another  variety,  but  much  in- 
ferior, which  he  terms  the  "  China''''  or  ^^  Madrassa" 
which  also  yields  its  silk  eight  times  a  year.t 

6.  The  MAMMOTH  WHITE  SILK  WORM.  This  is 
said  to  be  a  very  superior  species,  that  furnishes 
cocoons  of  a  large  size,  and  fine  texture. 

*  The  distinction  between  a  one,  two,  three,  &c.  crop  eggs  is  not  by 
some  well  understood.  It  means  this,  that  the  eggs  of  the  one  crop  can 
be  hatched  successfully  only  from  the  eggs  of  the  previous  year,  kept 
over  winter  to  the  following  spring.  But  the  two  crop  eggs  may  be 
hatched  first  from  the  eggs  of  the  previous  year  and  next  from  the  eggs 
of  the  first  hatch  the  same  season.  The  three  crop  eggs  will  hatch  suc- 
cessively from  the  same  season's  eggs  in  so  many  repeated  times.  The 
eggs  of  the  one  crop  will  not  produce  worms  until  the  following  season. 

f  Travels  to  India  in  1802,  1806,  vol.  i.  p.  78,  Lond.,  1809. 

i  This  last  may  be  the  kind  mentioned  by  Arthur  Young,  who  says 
he  obtained  a  silk  worm  from  China,  which  he  reared,  and  in  twenty- 
five  days  had  the  cocoons;  and  by  the  twenty-ninth  or  thirtieth  day,  he 
had  a  new  progeny  feeding  in  his  trays.  He  remarks,  that  "  they  would 
be  a  mine  of  wealth  to  those  who  would  cuhivate  them." — Annals  of 
Agriculture,  vol.  xxiii.  p.  235.  The  variety  Madrassa  finish  the  follow- 
ing course  in  forty  days ;  six  days  in  the  egg ;  twenty -two  days,  a  larva; 
eleven  days  a  chrysalis;  and  one  day,  the  imago,  or  moth. 


To  the  species  enumerated  in  the  prerrding  chapter,  we  may  add 
others,  that  are  either  yet  wild,  and,  thi'refore,  too  rarely  seen  to  admit 
of  any  minute  observance  of  their  habits,  or  that  produce  silk  from  other 
trees  than  the  mulberry. 

1.  The  Pexxstltaniax  silk  woux.  This  kind  of  worm,  of  which 
we  have  an  interesting  account  in  the  British  Ainiual  Register,  and 
also  in  the  Silk  Culturist,  was  found  in  Pennsylvania  hy  the  Rev.  S. 
Pullcin.  The  reverend  author  says,  that  he  had  discovered  the  aurelia 
of  a  caterpillar,  which,  on  examination,  he  found  to  be  not  inferior  to 
the  silk  worm  in  the  quality  of  its  silk.  The  cocoon  is  three  inches  and 
S  quarter  in  length,  and  one  inch  in  diameter;  the  shape  not  so  regular 
and  oval,  as  the  silk  worm's  cocoon,  but  nearly  resembling  a  dried  blad- 
der. Its  colour  a  reddish  brown,  and  its  weight  twenty-one  grains.  It 
was  covered  with  floss  silk.  Though  perforated  by  the  moth,  a  part 
was  unwound  in  hot  water,  by  which  the  strength  and  quality  of  the 


THE    SILK    WORM.  233 

Staple  were  ascertained.  The  fibre  beins;  redoubled  to  make  twenty 
thicknesses,  it  was  found  as  smooth,  elastic,  and  lustrous  as  common 
silk.  The  common  cocoon  weighs  about  three  grains ;  this  seven  times 
as  mitc/t .'  The  moth  is  called  isinglass  by  Marian  ;  it  is  large,  being 
five  inches  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  wings.  It  feeds  in  the  papilio  state, 
which  the  bombyx  mori  does  not,  and  it  makes  its  cocoon  on  trees  of 
the  hawthorn  or  crab  species. 

The  same  caterpillar,  probably,  has  been  described  by  Mr.  Chambers 
of  Uniontown,  Pa.,  as  taken  from  an  elder  bush,  having  a  cocoon  as 
large  as  a  goose's  egg,  where  others  of  equal  or  larger  size  were  also 
found.  The  editor  of  the  Silk  Culturist,  says  it  is  known  amongst  natu- 
ralists as  the  attacus  cecropia  of  Linnaeus.  It  feeds  on  the  currant,  elder, 
barberry,  wild-cherry,  and  other  trees.  The  silk  being  very  strong,  has 
been  carded,  spun,  and  woven  into  fabrics  of  an  enduring  quality. 

The  author  of  this  work,  many  years  ago,  found  a  moth  fluttering  in 
an  orchard  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  which  exactly  answered  to  the 
engraving  and  description  of  the  insect  furnished  by  the  Silk  Culturist. 
Ke  has  frequently  regretted  that  he  had  not,  at  the  moment,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  investigate  its  nature  and  habits,  but  he  hopes  that  means  will 
be  adopted  by  others  to  domesticate  some  of  these  interesting  varieties. 

The  whole  of  this  is  fully  confirmed  in  an  article  from  G.  B.  Smith, 
Esq.,  in  the  Silk  Culturist  for  October,  18.37.  "I  see  by  the  papers 
that  one  of  our  new  beginners  has  discovered,  and  taken  under  his  care, 
a  new  species  of  silk  worm,  an  American  silk  worm,  whose  cocoon  is 
some  eight  or  ten  times  as  heavy  as  that  of  the  common,  and  from  which 
he  expects  profitable  results."  Mr.  Smith,  however,  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  successful  with  those  he  tried.  He  complains  that  they 
"would  not  feed  kindly,  the  moths  flew  away  as  soon  as  they  escaped 
From  the  cocoons,  and  the  cocoons  could  not  be  reeled." 

2.  The  ViRGixiAX  SILK  WORM.  "Mr.  Forrest  Shepherd,  of  New 
Haven,  has  presented  us,"  says  the  editor  of  the  Silk  Culturist,  p.  19, 
vol.  i.,  "  with  a  specimen  of  the  bombyx  Virginiensis,  or  the  native  silk 
worm  of  Virginia.  It  is  found  in  great  numbers  on  the  plantation  of 
J.  B.  Gray,  Esq.,  Stafford  county,  and  is  capable  of  enduring  the  most  ri- 
gorous winter.  The  cocoons  are  found  suspended  on  the  red  cedar, 
and  yield  a  beautiful  white  silk  of  a  strong  thread. 

3.  The  TussEH  or  Buciir  silk  worm  is  a  native  of  Bengal,  exceed- 
ing, in  size,  the  common  silk  worm.  The  tusseh  silk  is  found  in  such 
abundance  in  Bengal,  and  the  adjoining  provinces,  as  to  have  atfordcd, 
from  time  immemorial,  an  ample  supply  of  a  most  durable  coarse  silk, 
which  is  woven  into  a  kind  of  silk,  called  tusseh-doot-'hies,  which  is 
much  worn  by  the  Brahmins  and  other  ca-tes  of  Hindoostan.  The 
caterpillar  when  full  grown,  is  about  four  inches  in  length,  and  bulky 
in  proportion.  Its  colour  is  green,  with  a  lateral  stripe  of  yellow,  edged 
with  red.  When  ready  to  spin,  they  envelope  themselves  in  two  or 
three  leaves  of  the  jujube  tree,  the  vegetable  on  which  they  feed.  These 
leaves  form  an  exterior  envelope,  which  serves  as  a  basin  to  spin  the 
cocoon  in,  which  is  then  suspended,  by  a  thick  silk  cord,  from  the  branch 
of  the  tree.  It  remains  nine  months  in  the  pupa  or  chrysalis  state,  and 
three  months  in  that  of  the  egg  and  caterpillar.  The  moth  expands 
from  the  extremeties  of  its  wings  to  five  or  six  inches,  the  female  to  eight 

20"* 


234  THE    SILK    WORM. 

inches,  and  immedlatrly  escape.  The  larva^  feed  on  the  trees,  and  are 
watched  day  and  nic;ht  to  guard  them  against  birds.  The  natives  of 
India  pretend  that  these  worms  cannot  be  domesticated.  The  durability 
of  the  silk  woven  from  it  is  astonishing.  Mr.  Lalreille  was  convinced 
that  these  were  the  same  as  the  wild  worms  of  (3hina.  This  kind  of 
silk  would,  no  doubt,  be  highly  useful  to  the  inhabitants  of  many  parts 
of  America  and  the  south  of  Europe,  where  a  cheap,  light,  cool,  and  du- 
rable dress,  is  much  wanted. 

4,  The  AnniNrr  silk  wohm  is  the  homhijx  cynthia  of  naturahsts. 
It  is  peculiar  to  the  interior  of  Bengal,  and  may  be  reared  in  a  domestic 
state.  The  food  of  this  caterpillar  consists  entirely  of  the  leaves  of  the 
common  castor  oil  plant,  well  known  in  this  country,  which  the  natives 
of  Bengal  call  urrindi/.  Feeding  the  caterpillars  with  these  leaves 
would,  therefore,  make  this  plant  doubly  valuable.  This  insect  is  about 
three  inches  long  when  full  fed.  The  colour  pale  green.  The  cocoons 
are  remarkably  soft,  white  or  yellowish,  about  two  inches  long  and  three 
in  circumference.  This  insect  remains  in  the  pupa  state  but  twenty 
days.  The  filaments  are  so  delicate  as  to  render  it  iniiiracticable  to  wind 
oft' the  silk.  It  is,  therefore,  spun  like  cotton  ;  and  woven  into  a  coarse 
kind  of  white  cloth,  apparently  of  a  loose  texture,  but  of  incredible  du- 
rability ;  the  life  of  one  person  being  seldom  sufficient  to  wear  out  a 
garment  made  of  it.  The  coverings  of  palanquins  are  made  of  this  silk. 
It  is  said,  however,  that  it  must  always  be  washed  in  cold  water,  since 
boiling  water  is  destructive  of  its  fabric. 

.5.  The  JAiinoo  silk  woum  is  another  kind  also  found  in  India;  the 
cocoons  of  which  are  spun  in  the  coldest  month.  The  silk  is  of  a  darker 
colour.  The  mates  when  hatched  invariably  fly  away,  but  the  females 
remain  on  the  asseen  tree,  (the  terminalia  (iluta  glabra  of  Eoxburgh,) 
on  which  the  worms  are  placed  to  feed.  They  are  not  impregnated  by 
the  males  bred  along  with  them,  which  fly  away  ;  but  in  ten  or  twelve 
hours,  another  flight  of  males  arrives,  the  females  afterwards  deposit  their 
eggs  on  the  branches. 

6.  The  E.MPKnoii  moth  is  represented  by  naturalists  as  deserving  of 
attention  on  account  of  the  beauty  of  its  colours,  and  the  excellency  of 
the  silk  elaborated  in  the  formation  of  its  cocoon.  It  feeds  on  fruit  trees 
and  on  the  willow,  and  spins  a  cocoon  in  the  form  of  a  Florence  flask, 
of  a  silk  so  strong,  so  thickly  woven,  and  so  well  gummed,  that  it  has 
the  appearance  of  damask  as  to  softness,  and  of  leather  as  to  consistence. 
The  tortrix  chloruna,  the  ffypst/  moth,  the  rrernn  spot,  the  tiger  moth, 
the  dock  weevil,  the  puss  moth,  and  many  others,  spin  cocoons,  the  silk 
of  which  when  carded,  for  they  cannot  all  be  unwound  like  the  common 
cocoon,  make  a  fine  and  clastic  silk  ;  but  are  of  little  use  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes ;  and,  therefore,  are  merely  adverted  to  here  for  the  sake 
of  bringing  as  much  of  the  whole  subject,  on  this  occasion,  before  the 
reader  as  possible,  either  for  interest  or  curiosity. 

7.  The  BoMBTX  CHnYsouniKKA  spins  a  silken  web  in  company  with 
a  society  of  its  fellows  of  three  or  four  hundred,  round  the  end  of  two 
or  three  adjoining  twigs  and  leaves,  allowing  space  sufficient  for  the 
whole  of  their  "  body  politic^'  to  retire  within.  On  the  approach  of  win- 
ter, this  community,  or  corporate  body,  whether  it  has  mayor,  recorder, 
common  council  or  not,  shut  themselves  up  in  the  nest,  which  by  this 


THE    SILK    WORM.  235 

lime,  with  the  addition  of  repeated  layers  of  silk,  has  become  so  strong 
and  thick  as  to  be  impervious  to  the  wind  and  rain. 

8,  9.  TsorEx-KiF.s  and  ttax-kiex  silk  worms  of  China.  These 
two  kinds  may  be  described  together.  Du  Halde*  mentions  that  in  the 
province  of  Chantong;.  there  is  found  a  species  of  silk  on  trees  in  p:reat 
quantities,  which  is  spun  and  made  into  a  stuff  called  kient-rhou.  This 
silk  is  the  production  of  little  insects  much  like  caterpillars,  which  do  not 
spin  cocoons,  but  very  Ion?  threads,  which  being  driven  about  by  the 
wind,  hang  upon  trees  and  bushes,  and  are  gathered  for  use.  The  stuff 
is  much  coarser  than  that  made  of  silk  spun  in  houses.  The  worms  are 
wild,  and  eat  indifferently  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  and  other  trees. 
Of  these  two  Viirieties.  the  tsouen-kien  is  much  larger  and  blacker  than 
the  common  silk  worm ;  and  the  tyan-kien  much  smaller.  The  silk  of 
the  first  is  of  a  reddish  gray;  that  of  the  other  is  darker.  The  stuff 
made  of  these  materials  is  very  close,  does  not  fret,  but  is  very  durable, 
and  washes  like  linen.-j- 

10.  The  Social  silk-xest  spixxer  of  South  America.  Don  Luis 
Nee  observed  on  certain  trees  growing  in  Chilpancingo,  Tixtala  in  South 
America,  ovate  nests  of  caterpillars,  eight  inches  long,  which  the  inha- 
bitants manufacture  into  stockings  and  handkerchiefs.t  Great  numbers 
of  similar  nests,  of  a  dense  tissue,  resembling  Chinese  paper,  of  a  brilliant 
whiteness,  aTid  formed  of  distinct  and  separate  layers,  were  observed  by 
Humboldt  in  the  province  of  Mechoacan,  on  the  mountains  of  Santa- 
rosa,  at  an  elevation  of  10,500  feet  above  the  ocean  level,  on  various 
trees.  The  silk  of  these  nests  was  an  object  of  commerce,  even  in  the 
time  of  Montezuma  ;  and  the  ancient  Mexicans  pasted  together  the  inte- 
rior layers,  which  may  be  written  on,  to  form  a  white  glossy  pasteboard. 
Handkerchiefs  are  still  manufactured  of  it  in  the  region  of  the  late  In- 
tendancy  of  Oaxaca. 

11,  12.  The  Chixese  wilb  silk  worm  of  the  facara  axd  ash 
tree;  and  the  Chixese  wild  silk  atorm  of  the  oak.  The  memoirs 
of  M.  P.  d'Incarville  make  mention  of  three  kinds  of  these  wild  silk 
worms,  one  feeding  on  the  fagara,  or  pepper  tree,  one  on  the  ash,  and 
another  on  the  oak ;  but  the  wild  worms  of  the  fagara  and  of  the  ash 
are  the  same.  There  are  two  kinds  of  the  ash  tree  in  China,  the  tcheou- 
tchun  and  the  kiung-ichiin  ;  of  which  the  former  is  the  same  as  ours, 
and  on  it  the  wild  silk  worms  feed.  After  all  the  Chinese  patience  that 
has  been  expended  in  taming  these  little  animals,  they  are  pronounced 
to  be  incorrigible.  From  their  cocoon,  in  which  they  spend  the  winter, 
they  emerge  in  spring  metamorphosed  into  a  moth,  when  they  provide 
for  their  successors  and  disappear.  Were  they  brought  into  a  warm 
place,  their  exodus  would  doubtless  take  place  earlier,  as  that  of  the 
common  worm,  whose  precocious  egress  is  most  probably  effected  by 
artificial  interference.  Hence,  the  suggestion  arises,  that  were  our  co- 
coons kept  in  a  low  temperature  from  the  moment  of  their  first  forma- 
tion, and  brought  out  on  the  ensuing  spring  to  produce  eggs,  instead  of 

»  History  of  China,  vol.  ITT.  p.  359. 

t  See  H'isioire  des  Sciences,  les  Arts  rfep  Chinois  par  Mailla,  torn.  2.  p.  575,  and 
Robertson's  Disquisiiion  concerning  ancient  India,  vol.  13,  p.  434,  note  33.  Ma 
dame  Lottin's  Treatise  on  Silk  wurms,  Paris,  1757. 

$  Annals  of  Bouiny,  2d,  p.  104. 


236  THE    SILK    WORM. 

hatching  them  in  the  usual  way,  that  they  wouIJ,  in  this  case,  g;ive  fresh 
eggs  as  wanted.  And  whether  nature  did  not  so  intend  them  to  pro- 
duce is  an  inquiry  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  culturist. 

These  wild  worms  moult  four  times,  each  of  which  is  four  days  dis- 
tant from  the  other.  To  preserve  them  from  hornets,  wasps,  and  birds, 
a  net  is  spread  over  the  tree;  and  from  insects,  a  trench  of  water  is 
formed  round  it.  The  cocoons  of  these  worms  are  said  to  be  as  large  as 
eggs,  and  are  carded,  not  wound.  The  larva  of  full  growth  is  nearly 
twice  the  size  as  that  of  the  common  worm. 

Some  kinds  of  wild  silk  worms  that  feed  on  other  trees  than  the  mul- 
berry are  found  even  on  our  own  continent.  In  the  first  volume  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  is  a  paj)er  by  the  late 
Moses  Bartram,  in  which  are  recorded  some  experiments  in  propagating 
caterpillars  from  cocoons  found  on  the  black  haw,  alder,  and  wild  crab 
tree.  Though,  from  these  and  similar  productions  of  nature  most  at- 
tempts as  yet  have  failed  to  procure  a  continuous  thread  ;  yet  the  thread 
obtained  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pullein  from  the  cocoon  of  the  ismglass  moth  bore, 
when  of  the  thickness  of  twenty  single  fibres,*a  weight  of  fifteen  and  a 
half  ounces,  whilst  the  thread  of  the  same  size  of  the  common  silk 
worm  always  broke  with  fifteen. 

Silk,  a  substance  so  important  to  man,  hag  naturally  directed  the  at- 
tention of  the  entomologist,  and  his  inquiries  relative  to  all  the  different 
animated  existences  producing  this  material,  have  passed  the  limits  of 
the  caterpillar,  or  Icpidoptera  order,  to  insects  of  a  very  different  character. 

Of  SPIDERS  there  are  many  species ;  most  of  them  extend  their  labours 
no  further  than  merely  to  make  a  web  to  ensnare  and  detain  their  food. 
But  others  are  known  to  go  beyond  this,  and  spin  a  bag  in  the  form  of  a 
cocoon,  for  the  protection  of  their  eggs,  nearly  similar  to  that  of  the  silk 
worm.  The  discovery  that  the  fibres  of  these  cells  possessed  considerable 
tenacity  induced  M.  Bonn  to  a  filature  of  their  cocoons.  It  appears 
from  authentic  documents,  that  M.  Bonn  was  successful,  and  that  he 
not  only  found  out  the  method  of  reeling,  but  also  succeeded  in  manu- 
facturing several  articles  from  their  silk,  particularly  gloves.  M.  Bonn 
has  noticed  only  two  kinds  of  silk  spiders ;  from  one  of  which  he  pro- 
cured the  finest  quality  of  raw  silk;  v^'hirh  he  allirms  is  equally  beauti- 
ful, strong  and  glossy,  with  that  formed  from  the  bonibyx.  'I'he  spider 
spins  from  fine  papilla;  placed  in  the  hinder  part  of  its  body,  which  serve 
the  office  of  so  many  wire-drawing  implements  to  form  and  mould  a 
viscous  liquor,  which,  like  that  of  the  silk  worm,  dries  and  forms  silk  on 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  forming  filaments  capable,  as  matter  of  fact 
has  proved,  of  being  made  conducive  to  human  convenience  and  cover- 
ing. Reaumer  states  that  he  has  seen,  whilst  this  insect  has  been  pro- 
ducing its  silk,  as  many  as  seventy  or  eighty  fibres  through  a  micro- 
scope ;  and  perceived  that  there  were  infinitely  more  than  he  could 
reckon  ;  so  that  he  thought  himself  within  bounds,  by  saying,  that  from 
the  tip  of  each  of  the  five  papilla;,  there  were  furnished  1,000  separate 
fibres,  or  .5,000  in  all  to  form  one  filament  of  a  spider's  web !  This  may 
seem  questionable  to  some  not  accustomed  to  the  microscopic  manipula- 
tions of  nature ;  but  whoever  consults  M.  Leuwenhock  will  find  that 
400  fibres  of  a  young  spider  are  not  larger  than  one  made  by  another 


THE    SILK    WORM.  237 

full  grown ;  that  a  hundred  fibres  of  the  adult  insect  are  only  equal  to 
the  diameter  of  a  hair;  or  that  if  the  fibres  and  hair  be  both  round,  1,000 
fibres  will  scarcely  be  equal  to  the  hair  of  a  man's  beard.  Calculations 
mathematically  exact  cannot  be  expected  concerning  such  minute  ob- 
jects ;  they  are,  however,  sufficiently  so  to  intimate  the  astonishing  mi- 
nuteness of  a  fibre,  and  the  reason  of  the  strength  of  the  filament  com- 
posed of  them. 

"  It  may  interest  the  curious  reader  to  know  by  what  process  Mr. 
Bonn  proceeded  to  attain  such  surprising  results.  He  commenced  by 
collecting  from  various  places  the  bags  or  cocoons  of  the  short  legged 
spider,  to  the  amount  of  twelve  or  thirteen  ounces.  They  were  beaten 
with  a  stick  until  entirely  free  from  dust,  and  next  washed  in  warm 
water,  which  was  continually  changed,  until  it  no  longer  became  clouded 
or  discoloured.  After  this  they  were  steeped  in  a  large  quantity  of 
water  wherein  soap,  saltpetre,  and  gmn-arabic  had  been  dissolved.  The 
whole  was  then  set  to  boil  over  a  gentle  fire,  during  three  hours ;  after 
which  the  bags  were  rinced  in  clean  warm  water  to  discharge  the  soap. 
They  were  then  dried ;  in  a  few  days  carded,  the  cards  being  finer  than 
those  used  in  carding  silk.  Thus  a  silk  of  a  peculiar  ash  colour,  the 
threads  bemg  stronger  and  finer  than  those  of  common  silk,  was  ob- 
tained, and  capable  of  standing  any  trial  of  the  loom.* 

M.  Reaumer  questions  the  last  statement,  and  thinks  it  will  not  bear 
a  weight  as  great  as  that  sustained  by  the  fibres  of  the  silk  worm.  But 
this  difference  of  opinion  needs  produce  no  quarrel,  since  it  has  yet  to  be 
discovered  in  what  way  silk  bags  from  spiders  can  be  produced  in 
quantity  sufficient  for  the  use  of  even  one  individual.  But  M.  Bonn  states 
that  a  female  spider  produces  from  600  to  700  eggs,  while  of  the  100  to 
which  he  erroneously  limits  the  .^ilk  wonn,  not  more  than  one  half  he 
raised  to  produce  cocoons.  He  affirms  that  spiders  are  more  hardy,  will 
breed  more  rapidly  and  with  less  loss.  Of  700  to  800  young  spiders 
kept  by  him,  hardly  one  died.  He  says  the  spider  is  not  venomous. 
When  bitten  by  them,  he  found  that  their  own  silk  was  efficacious  in 
heahng  the  wound.  M.  Reaumer,  appointed  by  the  Royal  Academy 
of  Paris  to  investigate  this  subject,  declared  that  spiders  were  unsocial 
beings,  their  natural  fierceness  and  venom  rendering  them  unfit  to  five 
together ;  the  larger  spiders  always  destroyed  the  smaller  when  put  to- 
gether, rendering  mulberry  leaves  or  any  other  food  unnecessary,  and  by 
which  their  commonwealth  became  speedily  depopulated.  "  It  appears," 
says  M.  Reaumer,  "that  the  work  of  one  silk  worm  was  equal  to  that 
of  ninety-two  spiders ;  and  that  one  pound  of  spider  silk  would  require 
the  production  of  27,648  insects." 

We  will  now  turn  to  the  pinna,  a  little  edible  muscle  of  the  vermes 
testacta  order — a  hmax,  with  a  bivalve  fragile  shell,  and  furnished  with 
a  beard,  the  valve  hinges  without  a  tooth.  It  does  not  fasten  itself  to  the 
rock  like  other  muscles,  but  sticks  its  sharp  end  in  the  sand,  the  other 
end  being  at  liberty  to  open  and  shut  in  the  water.  In  common  with 
the  muscle  it  has  the  power  of  spinning  a  viscid  matter  from  its  body 
like    the  spider  or  caterpillar.     Its  length  is  often   two  feet,  and   the 


*  See  Lardner,  pan  II.  p.  142,  1 13,  114,  &c. 


238  THE    SILK    WORM. 

threads  it  produces  are  scarcely  inferior  in  fineness  and  beauty  to  the 
single  filament  of  the  silk  worm.  Like  the  threads  of  the  spider,  its 
fibres  singly  do  not  possess  much  strength,  but  the  almost  infinite  num- 
ber which  each  fish  puts  forth  to  secure  itself  in  a  fixed  position,  amidst 
the  commotion  of  the  waves,  make  up  for  their  fragility.  The  pinna 
differs  from  the  muscle  in  the  number  and  superior  firmness  of  its  fila- 
ments. These  shell-fish  have  been  distinguished,  the  one  as  the  silk 
worm,  the  other  as  the  caterpillar  of  the  sea. 

M.  Reaumer  says  that  he  placed  the  pinna  in  a  glass  vessel  filled  with 
sea  water  to  observe  its  mode  of  spinning.  They  opened  the  shell,  put 
forth  the  tongue,  extended  and  protracted  it  several  times  in  every  di- 
rection, and  having  fixed  on  a  place  by  feeling,  whereon  to  deposit  its 
threads,  it  placed  its  tongue  for  some  time  on  a  chosen  spot,  and  drawing 
it  in  with  great  quickness,  it  formed  a  thread,  one  end  of  which  was 
fastened  to  the  place  selected.  This  operation  it  repeated  until  its 
threads  were  suflicicnt  for  its  purpose.  The  threads  when  detached  at 
one  end,  were  soon  replaced  by  new  ones.  The  pinna  is  found  in  the 
Indian  Ocean,  but  the  largest  and  most  remarkable  are  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea,  on  the  southern  coast  of  France  or  of  Italy. 

The  threads  of  the  pinna  have  been  known  to  the  ancients,  and  were 
used  by  them  in  the  manufacture  of  certain  fabrics.  The  silk  produced 
by  the  pinna,  as  in  the  case  of  the  spider,  is  in  quantity  limited,  but  the 
fineness  of  pinna  silk,  greatly  exceeds  that  of  the  spider,  if  it  excel  not 
that  of  even  the  silk  worm  itself.  Of  this  silk,  caps,  gloves,  stockings, 
waistcoats,  and  other  garments,  whether  in  simple  or  mixed  fabrics,  have 
been  made  to  some  extent  in  Sicily,  and  Toronto  in  Italy.  A  pair  of 
stockings  made  of  pinna  silk  may  be  contained  in  a  snuff-box  of  ordinary 
size.  They  are  warmer  than  those  of  silk,  and  more  lustrous,  though 
thinner.  The  pinnae  are  raked  up  from  the  rocks  and  sand,  with  an 
iron  fork  made  of  a  peculiar  shape ;  and  they  are  sometimes  taken  in 
considerable  quantities. 


CHAPTER    II. 

cocoonery:  eggs:  hatching:  statistics. 

Every  wise  man  in  bringing  a  progeny  depend- 
ing on  his  providence  into  being,  should  not  only  pro- 
vide fuod,  but  also  shelter  for  their  comfort  and  pro- 
tection. Relative  to  the  former,  the  ample  details 
already  furnished  when  treating  on  the  mulberry  tree, 
require  nothing  further  to  be  added  ;  we  will  now, 


THE    SILK    WORM.  239 

therefore,  describe  the  accommodations  requisite, 
during  the  process  of  feeding  the  silk  worm,  for  its 
growth,  health,  and  maturity. 

No  small  part  of  the  minute  directions  given  by 
European  writers,  arrangements  considered  by  them 
as  necessary  for  the  successful  rearing  of  the  silk 
worm,  arises  from  the  state  of  their  climate.  Although 
much  attention  should  be  every  where  paid  to  this 
department  of  the  business,  yet  the  superior  excellence 
and  peculiar  adaptation  of  the  climate  of  the  United 
States  to  this  culture  renders  many  considerations, 
thought  in  Europe  and  elsewhere  to  be  indispensable, 
here  altogether  unnecessary.  In  fact,  what  is  diffi- 
cult, complex,  and  demanding  extraordinary  care  in 
Europe,  can  be  performed  amongst  us  with  compara- 
tive facility  and  ease.  This,  however,  has  induced 
some  authors,  either  almost  entirely  to  omit  this  part 
of  the  subject,  or  to  run  into  wild  extravagance,  with 
respect  to  what  requires  close  attention.  It  has  been 
said,  that  the  silk  worm  can  be  reared  with  ease 
under  an  open  shed,  in  any  room,  or  almost  under 
any  imaginable  circumstance  in  this  felicitous  climate. 
Without  calling  in  question  the  practicability,  and  the 
occasional  success  of  this  extreme  of  venturesome 
negligence,  we  affirm  that  unqualified  reliance  must 
not  be  placed  on  sucli  statements.  Man  is  rather  in- 
clined to  degenerate  than  to  improve,  and  if  he  be  led 
to  suppose  that  silk  worms  will  almost  take  care  for 
themselves ;  there  then  wants  but  one  step  to  arrive 
at  the  persuasion  that  they  can  do  it  altogether. 
Care  should,  therefore,  be  taken  to  furnish  something 
like  system,  from  which,  Mathout  the  warrant  of  ex- 
perience, no  wide  departure  should  be  allowed.  Not- 
withstanding the  operations  are  extremely  simple; 
yet  to  secure  complete  success  they  demand  both 
attention  and  care. 

A  COCOONERY  may  be  constructed  of  any  indefinite 
length,  breadth  and  height.  But  to  be  more  precise; 
we  will  here  suppose  one  of  medium  dimensions,  cal- 
culated to  admit  of  feeding  conveniently  half  a  million 


240 


THE    SILK    WORM. 


of  worms.  Let  the  iDuilding  be  fifty-four  feet  long, 
twenty-two  feet  wide,  ten  feet  high,  and  of  one  story. 
In  this  apartment  there  may  be  three  rows  of  frames, 
each  of  eight  tiers,  fourteen  inches  above  another;  the 
lowest  one  foot  above  the  floor,  and  the  upper  a 
suitable  distance  below  the  pitch  of  the  roof  These 
frames  should  be  constructed  horizontally  between 
upright  posts,  one  on  each  side,  as  in  the  following 
figure. 

Fis.  3 


The  posts  should  stand  five  feet  apart,  so  that  the 
shelves  for  feeding  the  worms  may  be  six  feet  by 
three  feet  at  the  bottom,  but  gradually  diminishing  in 
width  by  one  or  two  inches  to  the  upper  platform  or 
frame.  The  next  upper  one  being  lessened  equally  on 
each  side.  On  each  shelf,  a  b  b  c  c  c,'\s  placed  a  frame 
of  net  work  or  millinet  resting  on  a  piece  of  wood 
fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  shelf  about  one  inch  above 
the  level  of  the  shelf  The  shelf  itself  is  stationary, 
and  rests  on  slips  or  slats  of  wood  nailed  to  the  two 
posts  on  each  side  that  compose  the  shelf  The  frame 
or  hurdle  resting  on  the  ledging  of  the  shelf,  and 
about  an  inch  above  it,  is  movable.  On  this,  and  on 
the  shelves  the  worms  are  fed,  and  the  intention  is  to 


THE    SILK    WORM. 


241 


permit  the  litter  produced  in  feeding  the  worms  to 
fall  through,  so  that  by  alternating  their  position,  they 
may  be  frequently  cleaned  without  inconvenience. 
The  above  engraving  represents  one  shelf  as  in  a 
whole  range.  In  the  ranges  constructed  in  the  build- 
ing above  described,  there  may  be  eight  successive 
shelvesfoUowingeach  other  thus,  :  :  :  :  the  dots  repre- 
senting the  posts  and  space  between  the  shelves. 

The  frames  should  never  touch  the  walls  on  any 
side.  A  free  passage  should  be  left  all  round  for  the 
convenience  of  the  persons  feeding.  Silk  worms  are 
the  prey  of  innumerable  insects,  as  spiders,  ants, 
beetles,  and  others;  against  which  they  should  be 
carefully  guarded,  by  sweeping  all  cobwebs  ofT,  keep- 
ing the  walls  and  floors  clean,  and  examining  the 
premises  with  repeated  and  close  attention.  The 
diagram  or  cut  which  follows  exhibits  an  end  view 
of  a  cocoonery  of  two  stories.  The  post  should  be 
three  mches  square. 

Fig.  4. 


.3  J 


^J^-E;i 


21 


242  THE    SILK    WORM. 

The  roof  is  surmounted  by  a  ventilator  (1),  another 
may  be  observed  on  tlie  centre  of  the  lower  floor  (4), 
with  a  sliding  board  to  open  and  shut ;  also  two  on 
each  side  (2,  3,),  one  above  and  one  below  the  floor 
of  the  second  story.  The  view  is  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  The  gangway  or  passages  between  the  tiers 
of  shelves  being  before  the  eye  lengthwise. 

Count  Dandoio  estimates  his  shelves  or  wicker  trays 
to  be  two  and  a  half  feet  wide.  The  width  may  depend 
on  the  room.  If  made  for  the  purpose,  let  it  be  with 
reference  to  rule.  If  apartments  in  private  houses 
are  used,  the  walls  being  plastered  will  not  be  so  apt 
to  harbour  vermin.  The  ventilators  should  always  be 
increased  according  to  the  dimensions  of  the  building, 
but  where  the  quantity  fed  in  one  place  is  small,  there 
will  not  be  much  hazard  in  the  feeding.  In  Broosa, 
and  other  places  in  Turkey,  the  worms  are  almost 
always  fed  in  the  private  apartments  of  dwelling- 
houses  ;  and  the  litter  is  never  removed,  but  remains 
a  pile  on  the  floor,  the  worms  extricating  themselves 
to  keep  above  the  dirt,  as  well  as  they  can,  till  they 
mount  to  spin. 

The  walls  of  the  building  should  have  windows  at 
regular  distances ;  we  do  not  mean  regularly  glazed 
windows,  though  some  light  is  necessary.  But  instead 
of  glass,  stationary  blinds  moving  on  an  axis,  and  ris- 
ing or  falling  by  a  slip  of  wood  attached  to  each  in  a 
perpendicular  position.  The  blinds  being  horizontal. 
By  pressing  this  slip  up  or  down  the  blinds  will  open 
to  admit  light  and  air,  or  close  to  exclude  both,  so  that 
the  windows  act  as  ventilators,  or  for  air,  as  well  as 
Hght. 

On  the  under  surface  of  the  shelves  and  hurdles,  on 
which  the  worms  are,  and  facing  downward,  are  con- 
structed the  corners,  as  we  may  call  them,  on  which 
the  caterpillars  may  mount  and  spin.  Many  con- 
trivances may  be  made  for  this  purpose,  and  almost 
any  one  will  answer.  Some  give  them  a  branch  of 
an  oak,  some  a  bunch  of  straw,  others  a  head  of  broom 
corn,  or  other  means  according  to  the  convenience  of 


THE    SILK    WORM.  243 

the  silk  grower.  We  have  seen  a  more  convenient  plan 
tiian  any  of  these,  and  offering,  we  should  suppose,  as 
favourable  a  retreat  for  the  caterpillar  to  spin,  as  for 
the  culturist  to  collect  the  result  of  its  labour.  This  is 
by  covering  the  under  part  of  the  shelves,  or  that 
which  canopies  the  hurdle  beneath,  with  laths  of  two  to 
two  and  a  half  inches  wide, nailed  on  edgewise,  three 
inches  apart,  over  the  bottom  of  the  shelves,  the  under 
one  excepted.  This  presents  a  serrated  surface,  into 
which  the  worms  ascend  by  the  aid  of  what  are  called 
ladders.  These  are  formed  of  cotton  cord,  of  sufficient 
size,  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  hurdles  below  ;  and 
the  lowerand  inner  edge  of  the  serrated  canopy  above, 
running  the  cord  from  one  end  of  the  shelf  or  hurdle 
to  the  other,  in  the  same  manner  as  a  bed  bottom  is 
corded,  except  that  the  latter  is  constructed  vertically. 
The  worm  will  not,  therefore,  have  to  ascend  this  lad- 
der perpendicularly,  but  at  an  angle  of  about  forty- 
five  degrees.  When  they  ascend,  they  seek  out  a 
corner,  alongside  probably  of  another,  in  one  of  these 
indentations,  and  there  spins  its  cocoon.  They  can 
easily  be  abstracted  when  the  spinning  is  complete. 
The  caterpillar  always  ascends  before  it  spins.  Some 
will  crawl  to  the  roof,  if  permitted,  but  most  stop  at 
the  apartments  prepared  for  them. 

When  the  shelves  ascend  above  the  breast,  a  safe 
and  suitable  ladder  should  be  provided,  so  that  the 
hurdles  may  be  taken  out  by  the  feeder  in  a  horizontal 
positioij,  when  he  proceeds  to  clean  the  shelves. 

Having  now  explained  the  form  of  the  cocoonery, 
or  Atelier*  as  it  is  called  in  France,  it  will  be  suf- 
ficient for  us  merely  to  allude  to  a  vast  volume  of 
apparatus  recommended  by  Count  Dandolo  to  the 
European  culturist,  as  almost  necessary,  at  least  as 
beneficial,  in  the  management  of  a  large  establishment 
of  silk  worms.  The  count  himself  occupies  not  less 
than  thirty  pages  in  the  description  of  his  thermometro- 
graphs,  thermometers,  hygrometers,  barometers,  ban- 

*  Atelier  de  vers  a  soie,  a  workshop,  or  spinning  place  for  silk  worms. 


244  THE    SILK    WORM. 

boxes,  stoves,  flash-fire  grates,  ventilators,  and  a 
variety  of  subordinate  laboratories.  It  is  universally 
agreed  among  all  writers  acquainted  with  this  climate 
that  these  are  here  generally  redundant  and  unneces- 
sary. In  short,  experience  and  matter  of  fact,  even  in 
the  most  unfavourable  sections  of  the  Union,  have 
proved  this  to  be  generally  the  case.  A  good  ther- 
mometer, indeed,  would,  in  certain  cases,  be  useful, 
and  never  superfluous,  especially  where  the  superin- 
tendent is  desirous  to  make  notes  and  record  experi- 
ments relative  to  the  hatching  and  operations  of  the 
progeny  under  his  care.  Though  in  actual  practice, 
more  bushels  of  cocoons  may  be  raised  without  than 
with  one,  yet  a  good  thermometer  cannot  be  other- 
wise than  occasionally  advantageous  in  a  cocoonery.* 


*  "  Since  the  publication  of  this  work,"  says  the  London  translator 
of  Count  Dandolo,  "there  have  been  erected  large  laboratories  in  Lom- 
bardy,  which  are  called,  Dandulieres,  an  honorary  testimony  to  the  phi- 
lanthrojiical  Parmentier  of  Italy."  The  name,  therefore,  is  already  esta- 
blished and  acknowledged,  and  cannot  be  altered  for  the  better.  It  is 
the  name  of  a  species  of  cocoonery,  or  of  that  kind  recommended  by 
the  count,  more  particularly  useful  for  humid  climates  than  for  this,  and 
therefore,  furnished  with  aU  the  apparatus  and  correctives  which  he  de- 
scribes. 

In  the  outward  and  general  construction,  it  differs  not,  except  as  to 
its  dimensions,  being  calculated  for  twenty  ounces  of  eggs,  in  anything 
essential,  from  the  one  already  described.  It  is  immediately  connected, 
however,  with  a  subsidiary  laboratory  or  room,  into  which  the  count  re- 
moved the  worms  after  the  fourth  moulting.  The  building  was  tliirty 
feet  wide,  seventy-spven  long,  and  twelve  high,  and  when  reckoned  to 
the  top  of  the  roof  twenty-one  feet  high.  There  are  thirteen  unglazed 
windows,  with  Venetian  shutters  outside,  and  paper  frames  inside  ;  un- 
der each  window  near  the  floor,  are  ventilators,  or  square  apertures  of 
about  thirteen  inches  such  as  to  be  closed  by  a  neatly  fitted  sliding  pan- 
nel,  so  as  to  permit  the  air  to  circulate  and  blow  over  the  whole  floor. 
When  the  air  is  not  wanted,  the  pa|)er  frames  may  be  closed.  There 
are  eight  ventilators,  in  two  lines,  in  the  floor  and  in  the  ceiling,  placed 
perpendicularly,  opposite  to  one  another,  in  the  centre  of  the  passages 
between  the  hurdles  or  trays.  Thi^  have  sliding  panncls  made  of  thick 
glass,  to  close  them,  and  to  admit  light  from  abave.  As  the  air  of  the 
floor  ventilators  ascends,  that  of  the  ceiling  ventilators  descends,  it  must 
pass  through  the  trays.  There  are  also,  other  six  ventilators,  made  in 
the  floor  to  communicate  with  the  rooms  beneath.  Tlirceof  the  thirteen 
windows  are  at  the  end  of  the  house,  and  at  the  opposite  end  are  three 
doors,  constructed  so  as  to   admit  more  or  less  air  as  required.     These 


THE    SILK    WORM.  245 

The  EGGS  OF  THE  SILK  WORM  are  so  small  that 
more  than  sixty  are  requisite  to  weigh  one  grain.  In 
appearance  they  exactly  resemble  a  poppy-seed ;  in 
colour,  they  are,  when  first  laid,  of  a  yellowish  hue, 
but  change  in  three  or  four  days  to  a  bluish,  or,  as 
seen  through  a  microscope  to  a  purplish  cast,  with  a 
greyish  sprinkle  over  them.  The  egg  has  a  small  hol- 
low, or  flattened  indentation  on  its  upper  surface  ;  the 
under  is  glued  to  the  cloth  or  paper,  and  is  flat. 
Those  that  continue  of  the  colour  they  had  at  first, 
are  not  fecundated,  and,  of  course,  worthless. 

The  preservation  and  treatment  of  eggs.  In 
some  places  eggs  are  sold  in  bottles,  having  been  not 
without  detriment  previously  scraped  oft'  the  cloth. 
Eggs  of  this  description  no  one  should  purchase,  es- 
pecially since  this  mode  has  facilitated  the  mixing  of 
the  seed  of  the  poppy  with  them,  a  deception,  whilst 
they  remain  on  cloth  or  paper,  not  easily  practised.  It 
is  possible  not  only  for  a  theoretical  but  also  for  a  prac- 
tical man  to  commit  mistakes,  some  of  which  may  be 
even  egregious,  if  not  absurd.     If  the  latter  should  be 


doors  open  into  another  hall  thirty-six  feet  long,  and  thirty  wide,  which 
forms  a  continuation  of  the  large  laboratory,  and  contains  trays  sufficient- 
ly raised  to  facilitate  the  care  of  the  worms.  In  this  hall  there  are  six 
windows,  and  six  ventilators  under  them,  and  also  four  ventilators  in  the 
ceiling.  There  are  six  fire  places  in  the  great  laboratory,  one  in  each 
angle,  and  one  on  each  side  of  the  centre,  and  a  large  stove  in  the  mid- 
dle. Argand  lamps,  that  give  no  smoke,  are  used  to  give  light  at  night. 
Between  the  hall  and  the  great  laboratory,  there  is  a  small  room,  having 
two  large  doors,  the  one  communicating  with  the  laboratorv',  the  other 
with  the  hall.  In  the  centre  of  the  floor,  there  is  a  large  square  opening, 
which  communicates  with  the  lower  part  of  the  building.  This  is  closed 
with  a  wooden  door.  This  aperture  is  used  for  throwing  down  the  lit- 
ter, and  for  admitting  fresh  leaves,  drawn  up  by  a  hand  pulley.'' — Xow 
if  to  this  we  add  the  thennometrographs,  the  thermometers,  hygrometers, 
barometers,  and  all  the  other  etceteras,  of  the  count's  thirty  pages,  we 
shall  have  that  species  of  a  cocoonery  called  a  Dandoliere.  And  if 
ever  Sir  Richard  Philip's  grand  epoch  shall  arrive,  when  by  the  entire 
revolution  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  some  twenty-five  thousand 
j'ears  hence,  the  seas  of  the  Antarctic  hemisphere,  we  are  told,  shall  be 
transferred  to  thoseof  the  Arctic,  and  vice  versa  ;  and  it  should  rain  here, 
as  it  does  at  Manchester,  where  they  say  it  rains  always,  we  will  re- 
pair to  Lombardy  to  take  a  more  exact  pattern  of  a  Dandoliere. 

21* 


246  THE    SILK    WORM. 

popular,  and  determined  to  oppose  some  favourite 
fancy  or  conjectural  benefit  to  nature, reason  and  com- 
parative investigation,  some  scores  of  mere  theorists 
are  ready  to  follow  in  his  wake,  and  to  echo  his  pre- 
script as  something  infallible  and  oracular.  Hence  it 
has  been  recommended  by  a  number  of  copyists,  to 
scrape  the  eggs  off  the  paper  or  cloth,  to  wash  them 
with  water  or  wine,  or  to  employ  other  preposterous 
and  unnatural  nianoEuvres,  Nothing  can  be  more 
evident  than  that  this  is  an  officious  interference  with 
the  regular  manipulation  of  nature;  any  artificial 
misdirection  of  this  kind,  is,  to  say  the  least,  super- 
erogatory and  detrimental. 

We,  therefore,  object  to  washing,  or  to  any  similar 
interference  with  the  process  of  nature,  as  laid  down 
by  Count  Dandolo  and  M.  d'Homergue.  The  un- 
fecundated  eggs  will  not  hinder  the  impregnated  from 
hatching, nor  injure  their  vitality,  as  has  laeen  represent- 
ed, by  their  vicinity.  The  writer  last  mentioned  says, 
"no  degree  of  cold  can  hurt  them,  provided  they  do 
not  freeze."  In  this  country  it  has  been  abundantly 
tested  that  no  degree  of  cold,  even  down  to  zero,  can 
injure  them,  provided  that  they  are  not  suddenly 
raised  or  depressed  from  one  extreme  of  cold  or  heat 
to  another.  It  is  a  sudden  transition  of  temperature 
by  which  they  are  injured.*  Eggs  permitted  to  re- 
main under  the  influence  of  a  high  temperature  will 
hatch,  and  young  larvae,  whether  the  mulberry  leaf 
be  ready  or  not,  will  present  themselves,  to  pass 
through  all  the  several  stages  of  the  parent. 

*  The  caterpillar  in  her  natural  state  lays  her  eggs  in  situations  ex- 
posed to  the  changes  of  the  seasons.  They  will,  therefore,  remain  un- 
injured by  freezing  and  cold.  In  disposing  her  eggs,  the  silk  worm 
covers  them  with  a  gummy  substance,  which  resists  the  ordinary  varia- 
tions of  the  seasons.  The  eggs  of  the  bonil)yx  mori  have  been  deposited 
on  a  board  in  an  exposed  situation  all  winter,  through  the  storms  and 
tempests  of  the  season,  and  though  frequently  covered  with  snow  and 
ice,  whilst  the  thermometer  has  been  even  below  zero,  yet  tlicy  have  pre- 
served their  vitality,  and  hatched  at  the  natural  thermal  change,  precisely 
when  the  same  cause  has  simultaneously  developed  the  vegetable  alimen 
intended  for  the  sustenance  of  their  future  existence. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  247 

Eggs,  when  laid,  must  be  kept  dry  and  cold,  and 
preserved  in  a  vessel  or  by  other  means  from  the  at- 
tacks of  insects  or  vermin  ;  if  in  summer  or  autumn, 
in  a  temperature  not  exceeding  fifty-five  degrees. 
When  spring  arrives,  they  should  be  placed  in  an  ice- 
house, or  in  some  such  place  where  they  can  be  kept  in 
a  temperature  not  greater  than  from  forty  to  forty-five 
degrees,  for  though  at  some  degrees  above  this,  they 
may  not  hatch,  yet  they  will  be  liable  to  addle,  as  they 
would  be  if  kept  in  a  cellar,  where  the  unavoidable 
dampness  of  such  places  would  promote  this  accident, 
and  consequently  disappoint  the  hopes  of  the  silk- 
grower.  A  cellar,  therefore,  is  not  a  good  place  for 
them.  In  the  winter,  a  dry  cool  garret  is  better ; 
where  they  must  be  protected  from  vermin  and  insects, 
by  many  of  which  they  are  devoured.  To  keep  them 
from  the  atmospheric  air  is  not  according  to  nature, 
which  is  the  best  guide  in  most  cases ;  on  the  con- 
trary, wherever  kept,  they  should  be  frequently  aired, 
as  the  exclusion  of  air  is  one  undoubted  means  of  de- 
stroying their  vitality.  They  may,  by  thus  artificially 
preserving  them,  at  a  low  dry  temperature,  be  kept 
to  any  part  of  the  season  which  is  desirable.  The 
cocoon  also,  as  soon  as  formed,  may  be  preserved  in 
a  low  temperature,  and  in  the  spring  brought  into  a 
higher  one.  In  this  way  the  chrysalis  remains  in  a 
torpid  state  until  the  warmth  revives  it,  when  it 
changes  its  coat,  emerges  from  its  confinement,  lays 
its  eggs,  and  dies.  vSuch  eggs,  too,  will  be  fresh  and 
better  for  a  new  hatchment  than  those  deposited 
during  the  previous  fall.  Under  all  circumstances,  it 
must  ever  be  remembered,  that  it  is  not  proper  to  al- 
low a  hatch,  until  the  food  is  ready  for  the  young 
larvae  in  sufficient  abundance. 

Hatching.  No  hatching  should  at  any  time  be 
attempted,  until  the  mulberry  leaves  are  springing 
sufficiently  to  promise  an  abundant  supply,  during 
their  first  and  every  successive  age,  as  the  larvas  in- 
crease in  size  to  use  them.  It  is  always  safer  to  be  a 
few  days  too  late  than   too  early.     The  multicaulis 


248  THE    SILK    WORM. 

leaf  should  be  well  developed,  as  when  loo  youn^ 
these  leaves,  as  well  as  others,  are  less  healthy  than 
when  mature.  In  removing  the  eggs  from  the  ice- 
house for  the  purpose  of  hatching  them, care  should  be 
taken  not  to  introduce  them  too  suddenly  to  a  change 
of  temperature.  They  should  be  cautiously  and  gra- 
dually brought  from  a  cold  to  a  warm  atmosphere, 
until  the  temperature  be  from  seventy -five  degrees  to 
eighty  degrees.  Otherwise  through  the  injury  from 
sudden  transition,  sustained  by  organization  so  deli- 
cate they  either  would  not  hatch  at  all,  or  hatch  and 
die  soon  after. 

The  method  in  hatching  eggs  pursued  at  Broosa, 
says  Mr.  Rhind,  is,  "  the  temperature  of  the  chamber, 
near  the  place  where  the  eggs  are  put,  should  be  G3^ 
degrees.  This  is  etiected  by  increasing  the  fire, 
should  the  temperature  be  less,  or  by  opening  the 
ventilator  or  door,  should  it  be  more.  This  should 
be  carefully  maintained  for  two  consecutive  days. 
On  the  I kird  day,  the  temperature  is  raised  to  66°; 
on  the  fourth,  to  68°;  on  the  ffth,  to  70°;  on  the 
sixth,  to  72°;  on  the  seventh,  to  75°;  on  the  eighth, 
to  77°;  on  the  ninth,  to  79°;  and  on  the  tenth, 
eleventh  and  twelfth,  to  81°."  This  is  quoted,  to 
show  that  it  is  not  mere  precision  that  is  here  essen- 
tial to  success,  but  rather  a  gradual  elevation  of  tem- 
perature to  that  maximum  of  heat  which  a  transition 
from  the  e2,^  to  the  larva  requires.* 

*  Mr.  Smith  says,  "  At  the  period  for  hatching-,  which  in  Maryland  is 
generally  about  the  1st  of  May,  the  eG:c;s  may  be  brought  out,  and  their 
papers  spread  on  a  common  table,  called  the  hatching  table.  The  proper 
period  is  always  best  ascertained  by  the  state  of  the  mulberry  leaves.  I 
consider  the  best  and  most  safe  lime  to  be  that  when  the  leaves  are  about 
the  size  of  a  half-dollar.  The  hatching  table  may  be  kept  in  the  common 
laboratory.  In  large  establishments,  a  small,  close  room,  with  a  stove, 
will  lie  very  useful  in  hatching  the  eggs,  as  the  temperature  may  be 
regulated  at  pleasure.  But  in  this  case,  a  thermometer  is  almost  indis- 
pensable, as  the  necessary  equability  and  gradual  increase  of  heat  could 
not  be  secured  without  one." 

M.  de  la  Brousse,  who,  we  must  remember,  wrote  for  the  climate  of 
France,  says,  ''  The  eggs,  on  white  paper,  are  to  be  placed  on  a  clean 
table,  separating  each  ounce  of  eggs,  and  leaving  a  space  of  six  or  eight 


THE    SILK    WORM.  249 

When  the  eggs  are  thus  carefully  exposed  to  heat, 
in  the  manner  we  have  described,  they  will  show 
signs  of  vitality  from  the  seventh  to  the  tenth  day, 
and  by  a  good  eye,  or  a  glass,  may  be  seen  within 
the  pellicle  of  their  covering.  Count  Dandolo  says, 
"  The  following  are  the  signs  of  the  speedy  vivifica- 
tion  of  the  silk  worm.  The  ash-gray  colour  of  the 
eggs  grows  bluish,  then  purplish,  it  then  again 
grows  gray,  with  a  cast  of  yellow,  and  finally  of  a 
dingy  white.  These  shades  of  colour  will  vary,  and 
they  depend  also  on  the  means  used  in  washing  the 
eggs."  This  washing,  however,  is  what  we  advise 
to  be  left  out,  as  ridiculously  superfluous.  The  ten- 
der leaves  of  the  mulberry  should  now  be  in  readi- 
ness, and  scattered  on  the  trays,  shelves,  or  table 
w^here  they  are  placed,  and  the  attendant  should  be 
up  by  the  dawn  of  day  to  watch  them.  The  young 
larvae,  resembling  a  small  black  worm,  generally  ap- 
pear from  sunrise  to  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Those  that  do  not  leave  their  shell  at  the  latter  hour, 
usually  remain  until  the  next  morning.  It  is  impor- 
tant to  keep  the  worms  of  each  day's  hatch  by  them- 
selves, which  may  easily  be  done  by  the  leaves 
placed  near  them  for  their  early  sustenance,  to  which 
those  that  have  left  the  shell  will  immediately  and 
instinctively  attach  themselves,  and  are,  therefore, 
thus  easily  separated  and  removed  wherever  the 
person  tending  them  chooses.  The  hatch  of  any  one 
day,  particularly  if  sufficiently  large,  should,  all 
through  the  season  of  feeding,  be  kept  by  itself ;  but 

inches  all  around  each  parcel,  for  the  reception  of  small  leaves  of  the 
mulberry.  This  table,  of  a  size  proportioned  to  the  quantity  of  eggs 
that  we  intend  to  spread  on  it,  ought  to  be  placed  in  a  room  seven  or 
eight  feet  square,  and  seven  or  eight  in  heic:lit,  closely  wainscoted  or 
plastered,  with  a  lire-place,  or,  still  better,  a  stove,  for  the  maintenance 
of  a  proper  temperature.  A  fire  must  be  rr—  le  in  this  little  room,  early 
in  the  morning,  at  noon,  and  at  ten  in  the  evening,  for  three  days  before 
the  eggs  are  placed  in  it,  in  order  that  the  air  and  the  walls  should  be 
made  dry  and  warm."  M.  de  la  Brousse,  however,  would  begin  with 
the  temperature  of  77^,  increase  it  on  each  day  2°,  until  it  attain  e 
maximum  of  92°. 


250  THE    SILK    WORM. 

never  should  the  hatches  of  more  than  two  consecu- 
tive days  be  placed  together,  as  they  cannot  thus 
pass,  during  the  time  of  feeding,  through  the  several 
moultings  together;  and  the  consequence  will  be, 
that  on  the  same  shelf  worms  will  be  found  eating 
voraciously,  whilst  others  are  sick  or  in  the  act  of 
moulting,  or  worms  in  different  states,  requiring  dif- 
ferent treatment,  which  will  be  inconvenient,  if  not 
detrimental.  In  short,  in  all  cases,  worms  of  the 
same  age,  even  to  a  day,  and  in  the  same  state, 
should  be  distinctly  classed,  and  always  placed  by 
themselves.* 

The  silk  worm  at  no  time  evinces  much  inclination 
for  motion  ;  and  if  properly  fed  and  provided,  will 
not  travel  beyond  the  distance  of  two  or  three  feet 
throughout  the  whole  of  its  pilgrimage  from  the  egg 
to  the  cocoon.  Bat  when  the  young  worm  first  ap- 
pears, unless  food  be  near,  it  displays  considerable 

*  Count  DanJolo,  who  seems  to  have  obtained  credit  for  his  skill  in 
the  rearing  of  silk  worms,  as  well  on  account  of  his  factitious  details  and 
minuteness,  as  of  his  having  in  some  measure  led  the  way  in  this 
art,  but  not  for  either  simplicity  or  brevity,  qualities  of  which  he  knew 
little,  gives  us  an  elaborate  description  of  the  method  of  hatching  the 
silk  worm.  He  informs  us  that  the  egg-cloths  should  be  steeped  in 
water,  stretched  on  a  board,  scraped  off  with  a  dull  knife,  then  washed 
in  a  basin  with  clean  water ;  the  water  skimmed  to  take  off  dirt  and 
bad  eggs ;  put  into  another  basin,  and  steeped  in  wine ;  then  again 
washed,  rubbed,  drained,  and  dried  on  linen  cloths  ! 

On  this,  Mr.  Roberts  remarks  as  follows,  "  Where,  we  would  ask,  did 
the  worms,  in  their  native  state,  procure  the  scrapers  and  persons  to  use 
them  ?  Where  di<l  they  derive  the  water  to  perform  their  ablutions  in  ] 
Where,  let  us  ask,  has  science  derived  the  knowledge,  that  the  gummy 
substance,  which  gives  to  the  eggs  their  cohesive  property,  should  be 
removed?" 

It  seems  to  us,  that  when  the  larva  becomes  vivified,  and  is  about  to 
emerge  from  confmcment,  it  needs  no  aid  but  what  nature  had  provided, 
that  is,  the  fixed  foundation  on  which  the  shell  and  egg  were  deposited,, 
against  which,  as  against  a  fulcrum,  the  insect  is  enabled  to  act  mecha- 
nically, and  facilitate  its  escape  from  the  embryo  state.  If  it  emerge  at 
all  without  this  fulcrum,  it  performs  more  than  Archimedes  could,  when 
he  said,  "  Ao?  tt'ju  crru,  km  tuv  ynv  Ktvyicrai" — "  Give  me  only  a  place 
whereon  I  can  stand,  and  I  will  shake  the  earth."  But  this  very  "  too 
a-Tce,"  "place  ivfiereon  I  can  stand,'^  Count  Dandolo  and  his  copyists 
take  away,  by  their  scrapers,  ablutions,  and  wine-washings,  and  leave 
the  little  folks  to  act  mechanically  on  moonshine,  if  they  can. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  251 

activity.  Its  strong  desire  to  eat,  which  it  imme- 
diately manitests,  impels  it  to  wander  anywhere  for 
food.  But  if  this  desire  be  satisfied  by  an  adequate 
and  timely  provision,  they  seldom  show  an  inclina- 
tion to  leave  the  shelves  on  \vhich  their  wants  are 
supplied.  Should  this,  at  any  time,  take  place,  which 
will  only  be  occasioned  by  hunger,  the  mere  smell  of 
a  leaf  is  sufficient  to  bring  them  back  to  their  domi- 
cile. This  disinclination  to  locomotion  is  one  of  the 
greatest  advantages  of  the  domestic  over  the  wild 
silk  worm ;  otherwise,  the  trouble  consequent  on 
their  attendance  would  be  immense.  Providence, 
without  our  contrivance,  has  ordained  it  otherwise, 
so  that  our  attendance  on  their  little  but  important 
wants,  is  an  interesting  specimen  of  the  coalition  of 
profit  and  amusement. 

We  have  not  stated  any  special  day  or  week  of  the 
calendar  for  the  hatching  to  commence.  As  already 
observed,  this  should  be  regulated  by  the  time  when 
the  food  is  in  sufficient  abundance  on  the  branches 
of  the  mulberry  tree.  Before  we  commence  a  history 
of  the  life  of  the  insect  from  the  time  of  its  egress 
from  the  es,^,  it  may  be  proper  to  premise,  that  each 
of  the  moultings  through  which  it  is  destined  to 
pass  may  be  considered  as  a  disease.  The  period  of 
moulting  is  about  twenty-four  hours,  during  which  it 
lies  in  a  torpid  state,  and  refuses  to  eat.  They  are 
then  greatly  injured  by  disturbance,  and,  therefore, 
as  already  remarked,  all  in  the  same  stage  of  for- 
wardness should  be  classed  distinctly,  or  be  in  a  place 
or  places  separate  from  those  of  any  other  stage,  that 
the  feeding  or  attendance  necessary  to  one,  may  not 
disturb  another  class  in  a  diflerent  condition. 

Diseases. — The  silk  worms  are,  too,  through  im- 
proper or  negligent  treatment,  liable  to  several  dis- 
eases, sufficiently  distinct,  by  criteria  peculiar  to  each, 
from  one  another.  With  these  diseases  it  may  be 
proper  to  become  acquainted,  before  we  enter  on  the 
important  operation  of  feeding,  that  the  silk  grower 
may,  as  he  advances,  understand,  at  every  step,  the 


252  THE    SILK    WORM. 

prognostics  by  which  one  disease  is  distinguished  from 
another,  and  the  remedies  necessary  to  arrest  its  pro- 
gress. Some  of  these  diseases  7nay  be  engendered 
by  the  climate,  but  more  eitlier  by  that  peculiar  treat- 
ment of  the  eggs,  which  fortunately  is  better  known 
elsewhere  than  here,  or  by  some  negligence  in  the 
feeding,  or  mismanagement  during  the  respective 
stages;  but  the  whole  of  this,  whether  experienced 
in  this  or  in  other  countries,  it  is  incumbent  on  us  to 
bring  here,  in proprio  loco,  under  one  view. 

The  Congressional  Report  on  the  Silk  Worm  enu- 
merates eight  causes  of  disease  in  silk  worms,  viz : 

"  1.  Errors  in  the  hatching  of  eggs,  and  in  the 
treatment  of  very  young  worms. 

"  2.  Unwholesome  air  of  the  district  in  which  they 
were  bred. 

"  3.  Impurity  in  the  air  in  which  they  are  kept ; 
arising  from  imperfect  ventilation,  from  the  exhala- 
tions of  the  litter  and  focces  of  the  worms,  which 
have  been  permitted  to  accumulate. 

"4.  Too  close  crowding,  owing  to  which  cause 
their  spiracles  (spiracula)  or  breathing  orifices  were 
stopped,  and  the  expiration  and  inspiration  of  air  pre- 
vented.* 

"5.  The  quality  and  quantity  of  food. 

"6.  Improper  change  of  food. 

"  7.  Peculiar  constitution  of  the  air  in  certain  sea- 
sons, against  which  no  precaution  can  avail.t 

"  8.  Frequent  changes  of  temperature  in  the  room 
in  which  they  are  kept." 


1.  Diseases  from  defect  in  the  eggs.     It  is  said, 
that  when  the  department  destined  for  the  coming 

*  Had  not  mechanical  impediment  .leen  contemplated  here,  we  might 
have  suspected  the  philosophical  accuracy  of  this  statement ;  and  sup- 
posed that  the  writer  intended  to  say,  that  by  crowding,  the  vital  princi 
pie,  or  oxygen,  in  any  proxi.nate  volume  of  air  was  impaired  ;  which  we 
yet  suspect  is  more  or  less,  on  such  occasions,  combined  with  any  impe- 
diment tliac  is  mechanical. 

f  Indeed  !  What,  not  even  a  Dandoliere,  nor  the  Count's  fumigating 
bottle,  nor  the  chloride  of  lime !    Credat  Judseus,  non  ego. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  253 

forth  and  laying  of  the  eggs  of  the  moth,  is  too  cold, 
below  fifty-nine  degrees,  (say  sixty  degrees)  the  im- 
pregnating liqnor  will  not  be  perfected ;  and  conse- 
quently, it  does  not  give  them  then*  ashy,  yellowish 
colour,  which  in  the  course  of  fifteen  or  twenty  days, 
indicates  the  perfect  impregnation.  Those  imper- 
fectly fecundated  bear  in  them  the  elements  of  dis- 
ease. Let  those  who  select  eggs  notice  this ;  an  im- 
portant hint,  whilst  the  eggs  are  so  dear.  A  room 
too  hot,  seventy-seven  to  eighty-one  degrees,  is  also 
injurious.  If  the  male  delays  coition,  he  loses  much 
of  the  impregnating  liquid ;  if  he  couples  too  soon, 
before  the  female  has  discharged  a  fluid  with  which 
she  is  loaded,  her  eggs  become  imperfect,  and  their 
larvce  will  be  liable  to  disease.  Or  when  the  place 
where  the  eggs  are  kept,  is  too  damp,  or  they  are  too 
thickly  heaped  together,  in  either  case  they  are  m- 
jured.  In  the  former,  the  evaporation  or  drying 
requisite  to  their  maturity  is  prevented;  in  the  latter, 
they  heat,  and  the  embryo  is  impaired. 

No  disease,  however,  from  any  of  these  causes  will 
occur,  when  1.  the  temperature  of  the  room,  appro- 
priated to  the  moths  and  their  evolutions,  is  kept  be- 
tween sixty-eight  and  seventy-five  degrees;  2.  when 
the  apartment  is  dry;  3.  when  the  cloths  or  paper  on 
which  the  eggs  are  deposited  are  not  too  much  folded, 
and  are  properly  hung  on  frames. — Diseases,  also 
arising  from  ilii  m,ismanagem,ent  of  good  eggs  re- 
main to  be  mentijuad  under  this  head.  When  the 
temperature,  whilst  the  embryo  is  approximating  to 
the  state  of  the  larva,  is  too  suddenly  elevated,  the 
organization  suffers  partial  decomposition,  indicated 
by  the  reddish  colour  of  the  shell,  which  is  a  prog- 
nostic of  disease  in  the  insect.  Injurious  consequences 
also  follow  a  sudden  depression  of  temperature;  in 
short,  sudden  transitions  are  to  be  avoided  throughout 
tlie  whole  existence  of  the  animal. 

2.  Diseases  from  the  bad  air  of  the  district  in 
ivhich  silk  worms  are  reared.  Low  marshy  places, 
productive  of  noxious  vapour;  all  situations  where 


254  THE    SILK    WORM. 

the  air  is  liable  to  become  stagnant ;  and  certain  ef- 
fluvia, especially  that  from  tobacco,  or  tobacco  smoke 
from  segars  are  injurious,  the  latter  being  speedy 
death  to  the  worm.  On  the  contrary,  high  and  ele- 
vated places,  Avhere  wholesome  air  exists,  are  salu- 
tary to  the  worm,  and  favourable  to  the  quality  of  the 
silk,  the  product  of  its  labours. 

3.  Diseases  from  impurity  in  the  air  of  the  co- 
coonery. When  the  air  of  the  cocoonery  is  not  fre- 
quently renewed,  particularly  in  the  two  last  ages,  a 
large  volume  of  evaporation  Tvnd  eflluvia  from  the  in- 
sects and  their  litter,  stagnates,  the  transpiration  is 
checked,  the  foeces  and  decomposition  of  the  litter 
emit  noxious  exhalations,  and  the  worms  become  re- 
laxed, and  disease  follows  in  a  few  hours.  That 
cocooneries  and  all  apartments  in  which  numerous 
silk  worms  are  kept,  should  be  well  ventilated,  is, 
therefore,  indispensable ;  and  for  this  very  purpose, 
in  all  regular  establishments  ventilators  are  con- 
structed. 

When  the  air  is  liable  to  acquire  a  morbid  ten- 
dency, besides  the  ordinary  ventilation,  its  noxious 
qualities  may,  by  fumigation  and  other  means,  be 
chemically  neutralized.  This,  however,  must  be  done 
with  care  and  judgment.  Nothing  should  be  con- 
sumed in  the  midst  of  the  cocoonery,  but  under  some 
chimney,  or  in  some  fireplace  constructed  for  that 
and  similar  purposes,  to  which  the  bad  air  may  be 
drawn  in  a  current  and  consumed.  Mr.  Nysten,  page 
105,  has  given  his  opinion  as  to  the  total  inetficacy, 
as  a  corrective,  of  all  inere  perfumes,  though  he  has 
not  assigned  the  reason ;  which  is,  that  from  them 
there  is  only  mechanical  dilfusion  in  the  air,  but  no 
chemical  action,  and  consequently  nothing  is  neu- 
tralized. For  establishments  containing  numerous 
insects,  those  from  five  ounces  of  eggs  or  more,  the 
occasional  and  prudent  use  of  the  chemical  fumiga- 
tory,  is  to  be  recommended.  For  this  purpose  put 
six  ounces  of  common  salt,  well  mixed,  with  three 
ounces  of  the  black  oxide  of  manganese  into  a  bottle, 


THE    SILK    WORM.  255 

to  which  add  two  ounces  of  water ;  which  keep  well 
corked  remote  from  any  stove  or  fire.  In  another 
bottle  provided  with  a  ^^lass  g?-ound  stopper,  (since 
acids  carbonize  and  destroy  all  corks,  by  which  the 
acid  itself  becomes  injured,)  put  a  pound  and  a  half 
of  sulphuric  acid ;  and  be  provided  with  any  small 
china  or  delf  cup  or  glass,*  by  which  the  quantity  of 
two-thirds  of  a  spoonful,  by  any  mark  within  or  other- 
wise, may  be  ascertained  when  fumigation  is  required; 
in  the  glass,  or  earthen  cup,  measure  two-thirds  of  a 
spoonful  of  the  sulphuric  acid,t  which  pour  into  the 
first  bottle,  and  immediately  a  whitish  vapour  will 
ascend.  Let  this,  always  held  at  an  elevation  above 
the  head  or  nostrils±  be  carried  backwards  and  for- 

*  Instead  of  this  in  the  books  we  find  an  iron  spoon  recommended. 
Tliis,  however,  is  somewhat  singular,  since  it  is  well  known  that  all 
metals,  particularly  iron,  decompose  the  water  of  the  mineral  acids,  and 
consequently  hydrogen  gas  is  evolved.  But  no  acid  except  the  fluoric, 
has  any  action  on  china,  glazed  earthenware  or  glass.  In  practice,  a 
small  cream  jug.  or  vessel  having  a  spout,  will  be  found  to  be  the  most 
convenient.  Chlorine  gas  is  wanted  from  this  fumigatorv-,  which  has  a 
powerful  disinfecfin^  power;  but  any  hydrogen  gas  would  be  improper. 
"  Accounts  have  been  received  from  Spain."  says  the  well-known  che- 
mist, Sa;nupl  Parkes,  "  that  i;i  tlie  midst  of  the  dreadful  contagion  which 
reigned  in  that  countiy,  the  inhabitants  of  those  houses  where  fumiga- 
tions oi  chlorine  gas  were  used,  had  no  attacks  of  sickness,  and  enjoyed 
the  best  health." 

•j-  Before  the  nomenclature  of  Fourcroix  and  Lavoisier,  or  in  the  lan- 
guage of  mere  alchymy,  sulphuric  acid  was  called  the  oil  of  vifnol.  It 
is  so,  in  some  measure  yet,  but  very  improperly,  sinre  not  a  particle  of 
vitriol  exists  in  its  composition.  It  will  be  here  necessary  to  caution  all 
unaccustomed  to  its  use.  If  a  drop,  or  the  smallest  quantity  fall  on  the 
clothes,  the  colour  is  changed,  and  the  fabric  in  that  place  destroyed ;  if 
it  fall  on  the  hand  or  skin,  the  epidermis  is  destroyed,  but  if  a  particle 
fly  into  the  eye,  or  reach  that  tender  region  by  a  ringer  not  previously 
well  washed  even  after  handling  the  bottle,  painful  or  destructive  conse- 
quences to  the  sight  will  follow.  In  this  latter  case  apply  immediately 
and  liberally  soap-suds,  or  alkali,  and  wash  off  with  water.  On  the 
clothes  apply  dhecili/  liquid  ammonia,  and  both  colour  and  texture  are 
instantly  restored.  For  this  purpose  these  materials  should  always  be  at 
hand. 

±  In  the  books  it  is  recommended  to  carrv  the  bottle  above  the  head  ; 
but  the  proper  expression  would  be  above  the  eyes,  mouth  or  nostrils, 
since  chlorine  gas  notwithstanding  all  its  disinfecting  power,  is  far  from 
being  tit  for  being  breathed,  especially  in  its  undiluted  stale,  and  in  that 
etate  would  be  injurious  to  the  organs  of  vision.     When  in  a  highly 


256  THE    SILK    WORM. 

wards  several  times  through  the  cocoonery,  and  when 
the  vapour  ceases  return  the  cork,  and  replace  the 
bottle.  If  the  state  of  the  room  require  it,  let  this  pro- 
cess be  repeated,  /;ro  re  natu,  during  the  two  last 
stages  particularly  of  the  worm.  If  the  cocoonery  is 
large,  either  repeat  oftener,  increase  the  mixture,  or 
which  is  better,  have  two  bottles  containing  the  mix- 
ture of  the  first.  In  the  last  days  of  the  worm,  the 
bottle  may,  particularly  if  on  some  elevated  and  cen- 
tral place,  be  left  open  an  hour  or  two  each  day,  or 
moved  when  elevated  into  various  parts  of  the  co- 
coonery. This  remedy  should  be  repeated  as  often 
as  foulness  is  indicated.  When  a  fireplace  is  in  the 
laboratory, a  few  shavings  may  be  occasionally  burned 
in  the  last  stages,  which  will  draw  in  a  fresh  current 
of  ajr ;  but  even  this,  if  cleanliness  be  strictly  attended 
to,  is  scarcely  requisite.  In  short,  we  may  remember, 
as  the  Chinese  have  done  for  ages,  that  cleanliness  is 
a  "shie  qua  7ion"  in  raising  silk. 

4.  Diseases  from  want  of  room.  Wlien  silk 
worms  are  on  the  shelves,  crowded  too  much,  they 
become  unhealthy.  In  removing  them,  the  hand 
need  not  be  applied  to  the  insect.  It  is  only  neces- 
sary to  apply  another  hurdle  with  fresh  leaves  in  it 
to  the  side  of  the  shelf  or  hurdle,  where  the  crowded 
worms  are;  which,  by  the  smell  of  the  leaves,  they 
will  perceive  and  crawl  over  to  them.  When  a  suffi- 
cient luimber  has  passed,  the  hurdle  can  be  applied  to 
another  shelf,  and  so  on,  till  the  crowded  shelves  have 

diluted  state,  i.  e.  as  when  smelt  at  a  short  distance,  it  occasions  cough- 
ing; but  if  a  small  quantity  of  the  gas,  whilst  yet  undiluted  with  atmo- 
sphtric  air,  enter  the  mouth  or  nostrils,  painful  and  extreme  irritability, 
if  not  confinement,  is  the  consecjuetice.  The  death  of  the  ingenious 
chemist  Pelletier  was  occasioned  by  inhaling  by  accident  a  large  portion 
of  this  gas.  His  lungs  were  instantly  iiTetrievably  injured,  and  con- 
sumption and  death  followed.  On  the  contrary,  by  being  first  held  high 
above  the  mouth  or  nostrils,  the  gas  rises  by  its  specific  levity,  is  diluted 
by  a  large  volume  of  atmospheric  air,  in  which  whilst  it  disinfects  or 
neutralizes  noxious  mixtures,  becomes  itself  neutralized,  and  conse- 
quently innoxious  before  it  reaches  the  respiratory  organs  of  man  or  in- 
sect. It  is  proper  here  to  be  remarked,  that  the  use  of  tiie  chloride  of 
lime  instead  is  free  from  these  inconveniences. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  257 

Deen  sufficiently  thinned.  Silk  worms  breathe  through 
little  orifices,  or  spiracula,  situated  on  each  side,  near 
their  legs.  Consequently  being  crowded,  to  them  is 
a  greater  mechanical  obstruction  than  it  would  be  to 
animals  otherwise  circumstanced. 

5.  Diseases  from  the  quality  or  quantity  of  food. 
On  this  point  little  need  he  said.  The  worms  should 
be  fed  with  great  attention  to  their  peculiar  wants. 
The  leaves  should  be  given  dry.  Wet  leaves  pro- 
duce a  diarrhoea,  according  to  some  ;  but  others,  on 
the  contrary,  state  that  they  have  washed  dry  leaves, 
squeezed  out  between  two  moist  cloths  the  excess  of 
water,  and  given  them  with  a  quantity  of  humidity, 
as  nearly  the  same  they  had  when  fresh,  to  the 
worms.  It  is  proper  to  observe  that  fresh  leaves 
seem  to  be  such  as  nature  intended  for  the  worms, 
which  at  all  times  have  a  degree  of  natural  moisture, 
though  externally  they  may  be  either  wet  or  dry. 
But  we  approve  of  dry  leaves,  though  fresh  as  possi- 
ble, being  given.  It  is  better  that  they  should  be 
even  a  little  wilted,  than  externally  moist  or  wet. 
The  experience  of  American  culturists  vary  on  this 
subject.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  a  degree  of 
that  care  which  may  be  really  requisite  in  a  climate 
not  natural  to  the  insect,  is  redundant  in  this  country, 
which  at  all  latitudes  is  isothermal  with  China,  and 
consequently,  the  only  one,  perhaps,  in  the  world, 
equally  favourable  to  its  exigencies.  The  leaves 
should  be  given  after  having  lain  a  day  in  a  cool 
place,  thinly  spread  to  prevent  heating.  In  the  anti- 
cipation of  rainy  weather,  a  supply  for  three  days 
may  be  procured.  Leaves  taken  from  trees  growing 
in  moist  soil  and  shady  places  are  not  proper.  Over 
and  under  feeding  may  equally  produce  disease.  The 
leaves  after  being  pulled  may  be  exposed  to  the  sun 
a  few  minutes,  and  then  set  in  a  dry  place  to 
cool. 

6.  Diseases  from  improper  change  of  food. 
Changing  the  leaves  of  the  red  for  the  white  or  other 
species   of  mulberry  tree  is  sometimes  detrimental, 

22* 


258  THE    SILK    WORM. 

or  whenever  this  order  is  reversed.  The  leaves  of 
different  species  or  varieties  of  mulberries  should  not 
be  given  at  the  same  time  ;  mucli  less  any  leaf  of  in- 
ferior quality  be  administered  witiiin  the  last  ages  of 
feeding;  since  this  would  occasion  derangement  in 
the  animal,  imperfect  spinning  and  inferior  silk:  ex- 
ceptions to  this  consequence  are  rare. 

7.  Diseases  from  a  peculiar  constitution  of  the 
air.  The  eudiometer  does  not  seem  to  be  an  instru- 
ment at  all  times  adequate  to  detect  the  variable  cir- 
cumstances that  may  disturb,  the  heterogeneous  sub- 
stances held  in  solution  that  may  enter,  or  the  different 
states,  greater  or  less  rarefaction,  tliat  may  affect  the 
general  constitution  of  atmospheric  air,  and  conse- 
quently vegetable  and  animal  life.  Count  Dandolo 
complained  of  the  year  1814.  The  farmers  in  Eng- 
land will  ever  remember  the  year  1S16.  The  farmer, 
the  horticulturist,  the  orchardist,  all  complain  of  unfa- 
vourable seasons;  and  the  medical  man,  or  his  patients, 
of  endemical  and  epidemical  times.  And  whether 
we  have  the  influenza  or  the  cholera,  we  lay  the 
blame  to  the  air,  and  demand  of  the  meteorologist  its 
component  parts.  His  answer  is  ready,  and  he  re- 
plies in  three  terms,  and  we  are  no  wiser.  But  all 
this  time  a  myriad  evanescent  things,  hidden  from  eye, 
from  ear,  from  sense,  may  be  in  operation.  We  know 
not  what  magnetic  currents,  what  mundane  plates 
of  electricity,  positive  and  negative,  may  be  in  play, 
high  in  aerial  climes,  but  affecting  below  all  animal 
and  vegetable  life.  All  that  we  can  do,  in  cases  that 
transcend  all  ordinary  experience,  is  to  use  the  pre- 
cautions already  prescribed,  or  such  of  them  as  the 
variable  circumstances  of  the  season  may  require.* 


*  The  year  1816,  was,  in  England,  one  of  unprecedented  rain  and 
humidity.  The  rain  began  to  fall,  soon  after  the  earth  got  warmed  by 
the  sun,  and  the  evaporation  was  abundant.  After  this,  the  alternation 
between  excessive  evaporation  from  below,  and  torrents  of  continuous 
rain  from  above  was  incessant  during  the  summer  and  a  large  part  of 
the  autumn.  The  farmer  sought  hedges  or  walls  on  which  to  dry  his 
hay,  for  the  ground  was  unfit.     The  reapers  were  in  some  places  up  to 


THE    SILK    WORM.  259 

8.  Diseases  from  sudden  changes  of  lernpcra- 
ture.  We  must  ever  remember  that  the  insects, 
which  we  suppose  to  be  now  under  our  care,  are 
tender,  and  of  a  delicate  constitution  ;  and  therefore 
we  should  be  provided  with  every  suitable  means 
to  correct  any  sudden,  extraordinary  or  unexpected 
variation  of  temperature.  And  this  care  should  be 
continued  not  only  during  their  feeding,  but  also 
through  their  spinning  season;  especially  since  the 
liquid  gum  in  the  secretor  from  which  they  spin,  if 
the  temperature  be  too  low,  congeals,  and  arrests, 
unless  due  warmtli  be  immediately  restored,  the  spin- 
ning process,  and  the  silk  in  this  case  is  lost.  The 
directions  already  given,  will  on  this  point,  and  m  this 
climate  be  sufficient. 

On  the  air,  the  quality  of  the  food,  and  the  degree 
of  care  and  attendance  which  the  caterpillar  receives, 
through  its  several  ages,  and  even  during  the  fabrica- 
tion of  its  cocoon,  depend  the  time  it  occupies  in  its 
respective  changes,  and  the  excellency  of  its  silk.  It 
has  not  been  generally  customary  as  yet  to  feed  it 
through  the  night,  but  experience  has  proved  that 
where  night  feeding  has  been  attended  to,  the  worms 
are  stronger,  the  cocoons  heavier,  the  silk  superior, 
and  the  time  shorter  between  the  e^s,  and  the  con- 
summation of  its  toil. 

Particular  Diseases.  The  names  ordinarily 
given  to  the  diseases  of  silk  worms,  are  not  those  em- 
ployed to  signify  the  same  in  Lombardy,  but  those 
given  in  L'Abbe  Rozier's  Cour  d'Agriculture,  which 
is  an  excellent  compendium  of  all  written  on  silk 
worms  by  French  authors. 

the  ankles  in  mud  to  cut  the  wheat,  and  the  sheaves,  for  want  of  sun 
to  ripen,  had  to  remain  in  the  fields  until  the  snow  of  an  early  winter 
began  to  cover  them  !  Who  would  not  say,  that  had  silk  worms  been 
rearing  in  such  a  climate  and  in  such  a  season,  that  a  Dandoliere,  with 
all  its  apparatus  of  stoves  and  chimney-places,  for  sudden  flash  fires,  and 
other  corrections  of  excessive  humidity,  would  have  been  desirable  1  In 
the  same  year  (1816)  there  was  almost  no  summer  in  the  United 
States.  Frost  occurred  in  this  state  every  month  in  the  year  save  one, 
and  the  changeableness  of  the  season  was  disastrous  to  vegetation. 


260  THE    SILK    WORM. 

1.  The  Passis. — This  is  a  vague  expression,  and 
means  little  that  is  special,  since  it  is  derived  from 
passKfi,  that  merely  signifies  .stijferhig.  Custom  how- 
ever has  arbitrarily  applied  it  to  signify  in  the  insect 
a  kind  of  marasmus,  atrophy,  or  simple  waste  of 
muscular  substance.  This  disease  is  knoivn,  1st, 
from  the  yellow  tinge  of  the  worms ;  2d,  from  its 
lengthened  spare  shape  and  wrinkled  skin ;  3d,  from 
its  sharp  and  stretched  feet ;  4th,  it  eats  little,  lan- 
guishes, and  is  evidently  in  a  state  of  atrophy. 

The  cause  is  said  to  be  an  excess  of  heat  main- . 
tained  during  the  dormant  states,  or  convalescences 
immediately  after  the  respective  moultings,  or  to  the 
length  of  time  the  worm  is  suffered  to  remain  under 
the  pressure  of  litter.  The  reviedies  are  instant  re- 
moval from  the  healthy  worms  to  an  apartment  which 
is  well  ventilated,  and  where  they  can  be  distinctly 
attended  to.  They  slionld  have  a  due  supply  of  ten- 
der leaves,  a  uniform  temperature,  but  a  little  higher 
than  that  required  by  the  worm  in  a  state  of  health. 

2.  The  Grasserie,  derived  from  the  French  gras, 
grasse,  fat,  full,  &.c.  This  disease  generally  appears 
towards  the  second  moulting,  rarely  later,  and  is 
scarcely  known  in  the  fourth  age.  The  symptoms 
are,  1st,  they  eat,  but  do  not  digest  their  food  ;  hence, 
2dly,  they  swell  and  become  bloated;  Sdly,  their  bodies 
become  opaque  and  of  a  greenish  colour ;  4th,  the  cir- 
cumference around  their  breathing  apertures,  become 
of  a  citron  colour,  or  of  a  dirty  white  ;  5th,  their  skins 
tear  from  the  least  touch,  and  sometimes  sponta- 
neously burst  from  over  distension ;  Gth,  they  are  co- 
vered with  a  viscous,  oily  humour;  7th,  they  appear 
disposed  to  obtain  relief  from  distension  to  stretch 
their  feet;  8th,  the  acrid  humour  proceeding  from  it. 
The  last  stage  of  this  disease  is  death  to  any  worm 
with  which  it  comes  into  contact. 

The  causes  are  said  by  Mr.  Nysten  to  be  the  too 
glutinous  nature  of  the  food  given  to  the  worm  in  its 
second  and  third  ages;  by  Mr.  Roberts,  the  too  sub- 
stantial food  for  the  young  worms,  occasioning  indi- 


THE    SILK    WORM.  261 

gestioii  ;  by  La  Broiisse,  too  abundant  nourishment, 
badly  regulated,  or  to  the  neglect  of  drying  the 
leaves  when  wet  by  rain  or  dew,  and  to  the  lack  of 
fresh  air  during  the  last  changes  of  the  worms.  The 
7'emedies  are,  if  not  too  late,  1.  instant  remov'al  to  a 
distinct  room  or  place  ;  2.  lessen  the  quantity  of 
nourishment ;  3.  give  the  thin  leaves  of  the  wild,  or 
of  some  inferior  mulberry ;  and  4.  ventilation  and 
moderate  temperature. 

3.  LuisETTE,  from  luire  to  shine.  There  are  but 
few  worms  attacked  by  this  disease,  which  seldom 
appears  till  after  the  fourth  moulting,  or  fifth  age. 
The  symptoms  are  l.the  luisettes,  or  shiners,  feed  and 
grow  like  others,  except  in  thickness  ;  2.  their  colour, 
first  of  a  clear  red,  soon  changes  to  a  dirty  white  ; 
3.  if  attentively  observed,  it  will  be  seen  to  drop  a 
viscous  humour  from  its  silk  tubes ;  4.  their  body 
becomes  transparent,  which  has  occasioned  the  name 
of  the  luisette  or  gloiv  icorm. 

Causes.  On  being  opened,  their  stomach  has  been 
found  empty,  except  of  a  glairy  transparent  fluid, 
which  has  led  to  the  inference  that  this  malady  is 
occasioned  by  negligence  in  feeding,  or  by  a  partial 
supply  of  food  ;  a  theory  since  proved  by  JNI.  Nys- 
ten,*  who  produced  the  disease  by  starving  some 
worms  for  twenty-four  hours. 

Remedy.  The  translator  of  Count  Dandolo,  and 
M.  la  Brousse  prescribe  a  short  remedy,  viz.  "  throw 
them  away."  Others  have  either  more  patience  or 
more  mercy,  and  advise  1.  instant  removal;  2.  a 
supply  of  food,  gradually,  not  suddenly  increased, 
until  perfect  restoration. 

4.  The  Yellows  is  the  name  of  a  disease  that  ap- 
pears about  the  fifth  age,  when  the  worms  are  filled 
with  a  silky  fluid,  and  are  about  to  spin. 

Symptoms.  1.  The  body  swells,  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  rings  gives  to  the  feet  an  appearance  of 
being  drawn  up  from  the  tumescence  of  the  adjacent 

*  Recherches  sur  le  Maladies  des  vers  a  soie,  par  P.  H.  Xysten,  Paris, 
1S08.     Des  Vers  a  Soie,  par  M.  Reynard,  Paris,  1824. 


262  THE    SILK    WORM. 

parts  ;  2.  the  worm  acquires  a  yellow  colour ;  3.  they 
cease  to  eat,  and  run  about,  leaving  stains  of  a  yellow 
fluid  ;  4.  the  yellowness  first  appears  around  the  spi- 
racula,  and  is  thence  dift'used  over  the  external  sur- 
face ;  5.  the  insects  soon  become  soft,  and  burst ;  6. 
the  morbid  humour  issuing  from  them  is  fatal  to  the 
worm  that  touches  it. 

Causes.  The  Abbe  Sauvage  ascribes  this  afiection 
to  sudden  exposures  to  great  heat.  It  is  also  else- 
where imputed  by  him  to  indigestible  food,  and 
exposure  to  the  iniluence  of  rainy  or  moist  weather. 
It  is  said  also  to  be  an  anasarca,  or  dropsy  of  the 
skin,  arising  from  a  defect  in  the  absorbent  vessels  of 
its  system. 

Remedy.  1.  Instant  removal,  as  on  all  similar 
occasions ;  2.  ventilation  or  a  change  of  air,  assisted 
by  fires  if  necessary ;  3.  in  two  cases,  oak  leaves 
were  given,  with  success. 

5.  The  MuscARDiNE,  or  numbness.  This  disease 
appears  in  the  fifth  age. 

Symptoms.  1.  Black  spots  appear  in  different 
parts ;  2.  they  next  become  yellow,  and  finally  red, 
or  of  the  colour  of  cinnamon,  which  is  diffused  over 
the  whole  body ;  3.  Tlie  worm  becomes  hard  and 
dry,  and  covered  ultimately  with  a  white  mould. 

Cause.  1.  A  continuance  of  a  hot,  dry,  and  close 
air. 

Remedies.  1.  Removal;  2.  purify  the  air  by  re- 
peated fumigations  ;  3.  and  promote  an  active  circu- 
lation in  its  current,  by  ventilation. 

6.  The  Tripes,  or  mort  blanc.  We  are  informed 
that  M.  Rigaud  de  Lisle,  inhabitant  of  Crest,  first 
discovered  this  to  be  a  distinct  disorder.  Sy7npfoms, 
the  worms  become  flaccid  and  soft.  When  dead, 
they  preserve  a  fresh  and  healthy  appearance,  and 
on  being  touched,  they  feel,  it  is  said,  like  tripe  : 
hence  the  name. 

Cause.  The  disease  appearing  chiefly  during 
most  or  rainy  weather ;  and  M.  Nysten's  experi- 
mental proof  that  it  may  be  produced  from  the  vapid 


THE    SILK    WORM.  263 

exhalations  from  the  litter  of  annncleansed  cocoonery, 
siitliciently  indicate  that  an  excess  of  moisture,  held 
in  mechanical  dift'usion  in  the  atmosphere,  is  incom- 
patible with  the  health  of  the  insect. 

Remedies.  1.  Instant  removal  as  before  ;  2.  dry 
the  air  of  the  infirmary  apartment  by  sndden  flash 
fires,  under  chimneys  provided  for  the  purpose,  and 
keep  up  the  warmth  and  dryness  of  the  room  by 
continuous  fires  in  stoves  at  a  proper  temperature.* 

Though  it  is  necessary  in  a  work  of  this  kind  to 
mention  the  diseases  that  occur  through  either  negli- 
gence or  mismanagement,  yet  we  may  rest  assured 
that  if  only  the  cautions  and  treatment  prescribed  in 
this  work,  suited  to  the  several  stages  of  our  insect 
colony,  be  observed,  the  worms  of  our  establishment, 
however  numerous,  will  be  preserved  in  perfect 
health.  Of  worms,  thi'ough  negligence,  the  French, 
M.  Beaiivais  informs  tis,  formerly  lost  fifty  per 
cent.  ;  lohilst  the  Chinese,  bringing  their  experience 
of  4000  years  to  bear  on  their  charge,  scarcely 
lose  one  per  cent.  !  This  difference  carried  out  into 
the  million,  is  490,000  looi^ms  ;  or  a  difl'erence  in 
silk  of  163  pounds,  worth  ^S15:  sufficient  to  show 
the  value  of  the  timely  care  and  vigilant  attention  of 
our  fn.<e  tveeks'  services,  for  which  the  little  generous 
animals  will  pay  us  so  liberally.! 

*  The  discovery  of  and  remedy  for  this  disease  has  been  aseribed  to 
Mr.  G.  B.  Smith,  of  Baltimore.  How  long  a  time  has  elapsed  since  the 
discovery,  we  know  not ;  but  we  find  the  remedy  recommended  in 
Lardner  and  others,  and  it  was  probably  known  from  ten  to  fifteen 
years  ago  at  least.  The  chloride  of  lime,  as  a  fumigator  and  purifier,  has 
been  known  since  its  first  discovery,  and  the  application  of  such  a 
chemical  preparation,  })ublicly  known  to  possess  such  properties,  is  a 
discoveiy  which  would  have  suggested  itself  to  every  one  requiring  its 
aid.  Tlie  disease  itself  may  have  been  first  pointed  out  by  the  very 
respectable  gentleman  above  named.  But  the  remedy  claimed  for  Mr. 
Smith  has  been  known  to  others,  at  a  prior  date,  and  has  been  men- 
tioned by  Lardner  at  least,  without  knowing  that  such  suggestions  had 
been  followed  elsewhere.     Vide  Lardner,  133. 

■j-  Besides  the  diseases  commonly  mentioned  by  writers  in  this  coun- 
try, the  following,  which  are  evidently  distinct  morbid  alfections,  are 
also  described  by  Italian  and  French  authors. 

7.     The  Scarlet.     Tliis  disease  is  so  called  from  the  more  or  less 


264  THE    SILK    WORM. 

Enemies  to  Silk  Worjis.  The  enemies  of  silk 
worms  are  spai'j^ows,  sivallows,  robbins,  the  titmouse, 
and  poultry.  Care  must  therefore  be  taken  to  ex- 
clude them,  by  keeping,  when  necessary,  the  win- 
dark  red  colour  which  the  skin  of  the  silk  worm  assumes  when  issuing 
from  the  egg.  Tiic  worms  attacked  by  this  disorder  seem  cramped,  stu- 
pified,  and  suffocated.  Tlieir  rings  dry  up,  and  they  look  exactly  like 
mummies.  The  red  colour  then  becomes  ashy  and  white.  This  disor- 
der does  not  always  kill  the  worm  in  the  first  moulting,  nor  yet  in  the 
second ;  and  sometimes,  they  do  not  die  until  after  the  fourth  moulting. 
When,  if  they  live  so  long,  it  becomes  more  diOicult  to  distinguish  them, 
as  their  colour  becomes  less  dark,  and  cannot  be  so  easily  separated 
from  the  healthy,  since  they  might  be  mistaken  by  the  most  practised 
eye.  They  will  even  weave  cocoons,  which  are  good  for  nothing,  called 
cajignons,  from  being  soft  and  ill-woven. 

8.  The  Drageks.  This  is  not  properly  a  disease  of  the  silk  worm, 
since  the  cocoon  is  already  formed,  when  it  is  called  a  dragee.  A  dragee 
cocoon  does  not  contain  a  chrysalis,  but  a  worm  short  and  white,  like  a 
sugar  plum:  hence  it  has  been  also  called  the  iv/ii/c  conifil.  If  the 
worm,  after  having  made  the  cocoon,  has  not  been  able  to  change  into  a 
chrysalis,  it  is  a  proof  that,  in  that  state,  it  was  sick.  But  it  is  not  likely 
that  a  disease  that  never  occurs  except  in  a  chamber  hermetically  sealed 
from  all  observation,  can  be  accurately  defined  by  the  fuculfi/  that  attend 
on  silk  worms  or  on  any  other  kind  of  patients.  In  Europe,  whole 
broods  have  been  found,  of  which  nearly  all  the  cocoons  are  affected 
with  the  dragee.  This,  however,  except  as  to  the  eg'^s,  is  not  a  loss, 
for  the  cocoons  are  unimjiahed  in  qnality.  As  an  article  of  sale,  thiy 
are  undervalued,  but  the  i)ro])rictor  that  reels  himself,  finds  them  as  pro- 
fitable, both  as  to  quantity  and  quality,  as  any  other  cocoons.  A  dragee 
cocoon  is  known  by  shaking  it,  when  the  sound  resulting  from  a  dried 
sultstance  may  be  perceived. 

9.  The  Calcinaccio.  "  Calcination,^''  says  M.  Dandolo,  "  is  not  a 
disease  observed  in  any  other  species  of  worm,  not  even  in  the  caterpil- 
lars that  live  in  the  open  air ;  whirh  evidently  proves  that  it  proceeds 
from  bad  management.  This  disease  is  the  result  of  certain  chemical  com- 
binations, which  may  decompose  the  component  substance  of  the  silk  worm 
at  any  period  of  its  existence.  The  causes  which  produce  it  are  such, 
that  sometimes  it  will  declare  itself  rapidly,  or  sometimes  it  will  remain 
dormant  until  the  moment  of  rising  on  the  hedge,  and  even  when  it 
has  formed  the  cocoon.  It  becomes  general  in  a  laboratory,  or  is  partial, 
according  as  the  chemical  element  that  produces  it  is  spread  or  confined 
to  peculiar  parts;  but  it  is  never  contagious.  A  worm  having  died  by 
calcination,  put  in  contact  with  a  healthy  worm,  will  in  no  degree  affect 
it."  M.  Decajtitani  having  publicly  asserted  that  calcination  was  the 
result  of  catarrhal  affection,  the  count,  in  1818,  entered  into  a  series  of 
ten  experiments,  which  successfully  proved  the  error  of  the  hypothesis 
of  M   Decai)itani. 

10.  The  Gattine.  By  Gatiina  (Hal.)  or  Gattine  (i'VeracA)  is  gene- 


THE    SILK    WORM.  265 

dows  closed.  Besides  these,  such  vermin  as  mice, 
rats,  weasels,  lizards,  ants,  and  spiders,  are  to  be  ca- 
talogued as  enemies.  The  last  are  said  to  make  the 
most  active  war  against  silk  worms.  Spider  webs 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  carefully  cleared  away,  and  all 
possible  precautions  should  be  taken  against  the  other 
enemies  that  beset  them.  To  prevent  the  attack  of 
ants,  or  other  creeping  insects,  the  posts  supporting 
the  fixed  shelves,  or  any  part  of  the  frames,  ought 
not  to  touch  either  the  ceiling  or  the  walls ;  and  the 
legs  of  the  posts  ought  to  be  smeared  with  molasses, 
or  placed  in  basins  of  water,  where  ants  are  known 
to  harbour  :  both  these  methods  would  be  a  more 
secure  preventive.  Vermin  of  other  kinds,  as  mice, 
rats,  etc.,  must  be  trapped  and  killed  in  the  usual 
way. 

Statistics  relative  to  silk  worm  eggs  and  space 
requisite  for  feeding.  Whether  we  are  about  to  com- 
mence the  silk  culture  on  the  small  or  large  scale, 
it  is  of  importance  to  know  how  many  silkworms,  at 
least  on  the  average,  we  may  expect  from  an  ounce 
of  eggs.  But  here  as  usual,  instead  of  having  any 
thing  like  certainty  and  precision,  in  what  may  be 
considered  to  be  an  element  in  statistical  calculation 
on  this  subject,  we  have  by  the  irreconcilable  state- 
ments of  all  that  have  written  on  this  topic,  for  at  least 
the  last  twenty  years,  all  that  sort  of  obscurity  which 
may  be  conceived  to  arise  from  the  twofold  source  of 
error,  discrepancjj  and  ambiguity.     We  have  before 

rally  unJerstood  a  worm  that  cannot  accomplish  the  functions  of  nature  to 
which  it  is  destined  according  to  the  degree  of  change  that  it  has  expe- 
rienced. This  disease  is  indicated  by  restlessness,  seeking  seclusion, 
loss  of  appetite ;  though  some  eat  well,  live  through  several  ages,  and 
then,  from  instinctive  desire  of  separation,  die  off  the  tray,  or  on  the  edge 
of  it,  but  not  on  the  Utter,  unless  attacked  by  the  disease  suddenly,  and 
have  no  strength  to  retreat. 

The  catiifs  assigned  hy  Count  Dandolo  and  Morin,  are,  1.  Injur)'  as 
to  the  eggs,  from  error  in  the  preservation,  hatching,  removal,  or  carriage; 
2.  Subsequent  negligence  as  to  temperature,  air,  or  food.  "  There  can- 
not exist  disease,"  says  the  count,  "  when  the  e^^  is  well  impregnated, 
well  preserved,  and  the  silk  worm  well  attended  to."  Xo  remedies,  ex 
cept  the  preventive,  have  as  yet  been  prescribed  for  this  malady. 

23 


266  THE    SILK    WORM. 

US  Statements  relative  to  the  number  of  eggs  in  an 
ounce,  that  vacillate  at  aU  points  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes of  42,000  and  20,000  per  onnce;  and  others 
condescend  not  even  to  say  whether,  by  the  number 
they  quote,  they  mean  simply  the  eggs,  or  the  num- 
ber of  worms  we  may  expect  from  an  ounce,  or  the 
number  at  the  hatch  that  will  weigh  an  ounce. 

AU,  however,  in  this,  whether  Italian,  French,  Ger- 
man, English  or  American  writers,  seem  to  follow 
Count  Dandolo.  Notwithstanding  the  count's  very 
venial  but  yet  evident  eccentricities,  wherein  he  has 
carried  the  favourite  pursuit  of  his  life  beyond  the 
"  est  modus  in  rebus,''  yet  is  he  to  this  day,  in  several 
points  relative  to  silk  culture,  the  facile  princeps. 
Had  any  one  or  two  of  the  numerous  copyists  that 
have  followed  in  his  wake,  exemplified  the  same  in- 
defatigable patience  in  minute  investigation,  all  incer- 
titude on  this,  and  on  certain  other  points,  would  have 
been  at  an  end  ;  since,  thus,  in  the  mouth  of  two  or 
three  witnesses,  )ioi  copyists,  every  thing  had  been 
established. 

Of  those  that  have  stated  42,000,  40,000,  35,000, 
30,000,  29,000,  22,640,  and  20,000,  to  the  ounce,  we 
could  quote  the  principal  and  most  popular  authors 
that  have  written  on  this  subject  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  in  this  country,  or  in  Europe.  The 
42,000  is  a  number  that  is  some  second  edition  of 
Dandolo's  statement  of  42,260  eggs  to  the  ounce  of 
his  little  worms,  of  three  moultings,  and  therefore  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  calculation.  The  40,000  is 
the  convenient  echo  in  round  numbers  of  the  count's 
discovery  that  39,168  eggs  of  the  common  silk  worm 
weigh  one  ounce.  This  and  all  the  rest,  however 
modified,  by  taking  off  one-third  for,  as  we  are  told, 
presumed  loss,  or  for  other  reasons,  are  evidently  de- 
rived, seldom  with  acknowledgment,  but  without 
any  thing  independent,  anything  new  on  the  subject. 

The  whole,  therefore,  whether  Italian,  French,  Ger- 
man, English  or  American  writers,  on  this  point,  being 
plainly  convicted,  on  the  prima  facie  evidence  of  the 


THE  SILK  woRnr.  267 

trial,  of  a  second-hand  character,  we  shall  repair  at 
once  to  our  Pythagoras,  not  with  servile  obsequious- 
ness '■'■jurare  in  verba  magistri,'"  nor  to  echo  an 
"7/;.ye  dixit, ""^  but  to  institute  an  inquiry,  relative  to  a 
point  in  silk  culture,  which  may  be  considered  as  an 
element,  and,  therefore,  important  in  statistical  calcu- 
lation. 

The  count  says,*  "  to  make  one  ounce  of  picked 
eggs,  there  should  be,  for  an  average  weight,  39,168 
eggs.  I  observed  with  some  surprise,  that  there  loas 
little  difference  in  the  iveight  of  eggs  belonging  to 
above  twenty  persons.^'  Dandolo,  therefore,  had  as- 
certained this  fact  by  at  least  twenty  distinct  trials  ! 
Where  have  we  another  example  of  patient  investiga- 
tion equal  to  this  ?  Not  one !  So  easy  is  it  to  copy, 
or  to  quote  the  words  of  another  as  our  doctrine ;  so 
difficult  to  be  original.     The  count  adds, 

"  I  have  had  the  patience  to  count  many  hundred 
thousand  eggs,  in  hopes  that  it  might  be  useful,"  (true 
patriotism  exercised  in  that  whence  least  expected; 
"  in  tenui  labor,^^)  "in  the  art  of  rearing  silk  worms. 
The  best  eggs  when  weighed  atlbrded  no  more  than 
sixty-eight  eggs  per  grain. t  And  the  inferior  quality 
of  eggs  did  not  afford  more  than  seventy  eggs  per 
grain."  He  afterwards  adds,  "one  ounce  is  com- 
posed of  576  grains." 

But  what  is  to  be  inferred  from  this  ?  The  count 
'ived  at  Vareset  near  Milan  in  Lombardy,  a  region 
where  both  the  number  of  grains  in  a  pound,  and  the 
grain  itself  as  weighed  by  any  standard  unit  is  con- 
stantly shifting  every  fifty  or  sixty  miles.  In  Florence 

•  P.  73  and  74. 

■(■  This  would  be  equivalent  to  seventy-three  to  the  English  grain. 

i  Count  Dandolo  made  those  experiments  on  his  estate,  Varese,  near 
Milan,  where  he  opened  a  real  school  for  the  silk  culture,  and  where  he 
gathered  around  him  some  young  men,  to  whom  he  read  lectures  on  this 
art.  The  count  died  of  apoplexy  on  the  12th  of  December,  1819.  His 
laboratorj'  still  exists  at  Varese.  and  had  been  imitated  in  several  places. 
It  is  indeed  a  perfect  model.  The  Italians  call  these  laboratories,  Dan- 
dolieres,  from  gratitude  to  the  person  throus^h  whose  instruction  the 
crops  of  silk  have  increased  tenfuld  in  Italy,  and  who  has  secured  to  hia 
eountry  an  abundant  source  of  wealth."    Count  de  Hazzi. 


268  THE    SILK    WORM. 

the  pound  is  equal  to  5286*  grains  English  ;  the 
pound  at  Genoa  to  4426  ;  at  Naples  to  4952  ;  at 
Rome  to  5257  ;  at  Turin  to  4940  ;  and  at  Venice  they 
use  two  pounds,  the  greater  and  the  less;  one  of 
6826,  and  the  other  of  4215  English  grains.  But  we 
are  nowhere  accurately  informed  what  the  natives  of 
these  places  respectively  term  a  grain,  nor  how  many, 
in  each  case,  they  reckon  either  to  the  pound  or  ounce. 
The  number  of  grains,  576,  in  Dandolo's  ounce  being 
one-tenth  of  5760,  the  number  of  Ens;lish  grains  in  a 
pound  troy,  added  to  a  vague  report  from  the  neigh- 
l)Ourhood  of  Naples,  either  that  an  Italian  pound 
consists  often  Italian  ounces,  or  is  equal  to  ten  Eng- 
lish ounces,  has  led  some  to  conjecture  that  Dandolo's 
ounce  was  equal  to  one-tenth  of  a  pound  troy.  But 
since  the  576  grains  quoted  by  him  are  no  aliquot 
part,  neither  tenth  nor  twelfth  at  least  of  any  one,  on 
the  list  now  before  us  of  the  sixty-five  European 
pounds,  whose  quantities  are  expressed  in  English 
grains,  it  is  sufficiently  evident,  that  Ave  are  to  under- 
stand 576  Italian  not  English  grains.  The  count, 
however,  has  elsewhere  informed  us  that  the  Milan 
pound  consists  of  twelve  ounces,  and  consequently  of 
6912  Milanese  grains,  and  that  twenty-eight  ounces 
of  Milan  are  equivalent  to  about  twenty-five  French 
ounces;  without  however  stating  of  what  French 
pound.t  Dr.  Lardner,  however,  without  quoting 
authority,  undertakes  to  decide  that  533  Milanese 
grains  are  equal  to  one  ounce  avoirdupois.  That  is, 
39,168  silk  worm  eggs  weigh  576  Milanese  grains: 
therefore,  at  the  same  rate,  36,244  are  in  weight  equal 

*  Though  no  notice  is  taken  in  avoirdupois  tables  of  any  denomina- 
tion lower  than  a  drachm ;  yet  an  avoirdupois  pound  is  equal  to  7000 
grains;  and  no  grain  is  used  in  English  weights  but  that  in  troy  and 
apothecaries  weights,  which  are  the  same.  Of  these  the  pound  troy 
contains  57G0;   the  ounce   troy  480,  and  the  ounce  avoirdupois  4372. 

j-  The  following  list  will  be  sulhcient  to  show  the  necessity  of  being 
special  in  quoting  foreign  weights  or  measures,  when  that  of  a  single 
nation  can  shift  into  shapes  as  many  as  those  of  the  Protean  god.  The 
oound  of  Avignon  is  equal  to  6217  English  grains:  of  Bordeaux  to 
7460     of  Lisle  to  6544  ;  of  Marseilles  to  6041  ;  of  Montpelier  to  6217; 


THE    SILK    WORM.  269 

to  our  avoirdupois  ounce  of  437^  grains.  We  are  not 
warranted,  therefore,  making  some  deduction  for  loss, 
to  quote  more  than  35,000  eggs  to  the  English  avoir- 
dupois ounce. 

Mr.  Roberts,  to  make  allowance  for  a  possible  loss 
of  one-third,  or  thirty-three  per  cent.,  gives  20,000  to 
the  ounce.  Here  then  is  meant,  eggs  that  succeed  in 
the  hatch,  which  evidently  agrees,  accounting  for  the 
deduction,  with  the  statement  we  have  given.  But 
we  see  no  need  for  loss  to  any  such  extent,  since  the 
Chinese  can  boast  that  their  loss  exceeds  not  one  per 
cent.* 

We  cannot  here  omit  to  mention  another  interesting 
discovery,  relative  to  the  eggs  of  the  silk  worm,  that 
did  not  escape  the  vigilance  of  Dandolo.  He  found 
that  576  grains,  or  one  Milanese  ounce  of  eggs,  lost 
on  being  brought  into  the  store  room,  in  order  to 
hatching,  or  at  the  temperature  of  64°,  forty-seven 
grains  by  evaporation  ;  and  that  the  shells  or  husks, 
after  hatching  weighed  116  grains.  Hence,  163 
grains  deducted  from  576,  leave  the  weight  of  the 
39,168  worms  immediately  after  hatchment  to  be 
413  grains.  "  At  this  rate,"  says  he,  "  54,526  young 
worms  are  required  to  form  the  weight  of  one  ounce," 

the  f:Uk  pound  of  Lyons  to  6916,  the  common  to  6431  ;  of  Nancy  to 
7038;  of  Rouen  to  7772;  of  Toulouse  to  6323  ;  and  of  Paris  to  7561. 
Neither  the  hecatogramme,  nor  the  chiliogramme  of  the  French  Na- 
tional Institute  is,  in  quantity,  any  thing  near  to  one  pound.  We  are 
informed,  it  is  true,  that  the  Milan  pound  is  equal  to  5400  French 
grains,  which  are  equal  to  4430  English  grains,  or  369  English  grains 
to  the  Milanese  ounce  ;  but  this  would  give  the  doubtful  result  of  46,439 
silk  worm  eggs  to  the  avoirdupois  ounce. 

*  We  take  this  opportunity  to  advise  every  future  and  ingenious  cul- 
turist  to  provide  himself  with  a  set  of  apothecaries  weights  and  scales. 
He  will  find  it  useful  for  many  domestic  purposes.  It  will  contain  the 
following  weights:  of  grains,  from  the  half  grain  to  six  grains;  the  half 
scruple  equal  to  ten  grains ;  the  scruple  twenty  grains  ;  two  scruples  or 
forty  grains  ;  the  drachm  sixty  grains,  eight  of  which  are  equal  to  one 
ounce  troy  or  apothecaries,  or  480  grains ;  and  the  two  drachm  weight. 
Let  him  by  repeated  trials  find  the  number  of  eggs  that  weigh  five 
grains,  and  multiply  the  number  by  eighty-seven  and  a  half;  he  will 
then  have  the  number  of  eggs  weighing  an  avoirdupois  ounce  of  437^ 
grains. 

23* 


270  THE    SILK    WORM. 

i.  e.  Milanese  ounce  of  576  grains,  equal  to  533  Eng- 

54,526  X  533 
lish   ffrains.      Hence ^^r--. =50,548    newly 

°  bib  ^  •' 

hatched  worms ;  which  are  equal  to  ounce  avoirdu- 
pois. 

The  Count,  besides  informing  us  that  it  requires 
immediately  after  hatching  54,626  young  worms  to 
weigh  an  ounce,  also  states,  that  after  the  first  moidl- 
ing,  "  3S40  are  sufficient  to  make  up  that  weight ; 
and  that  the  \vorm,  therefore,  has  increased  in  six 
days,  fourfeoi  li)?ies  its  own  weight:"  that  after  the 
second  moulting  610  will  form  this  weight ;  or  that  it 
has  increased  its  average  weight  sixfold;  that  at  the 
end  of  the  third  lyioulting,  144  worms  weigh  an 
ounce,  implying  an  increase  more  than  fourfold; 
that  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  moulting,  only  thirty- 
five  are  requisite  to  the  ounce,  proving  again  2i  four- 
fold increase  ;  and  that  at  the  close  o{  the  fifth  moult- 
ing even  six  silk  worms  weigh  the  same  as  54,526 
immediately  after  hatching,  nearly  an  increase  of  six 
tirnes  their  size  in  the  preceding  age ;  or  an  entire  in- 
crease in  all  of  9000  times  from  the  first  commence- 
ment of  the  larva  state.  From  these  premises,  it 
must  necessarily  follow  that  one  English  ounce  of 
worms  immediately  after  hatching,  will,  on  the  sup- 
position that  none  are  lost,  weigh  9000  ounces  at 
mounting  to  spin  the  cocoon  ;  or  5  cwts.  0  qrs.  2  lbs. 
8  oz.  for  every  ounce  of  worms  !  !* 

The  whole  of  the  history  of  this  little  insect,  is  to 
the  naturalist  too  interesting,  and  to  the  culturist  too 
important,  to  allow  any  thing  of  a  statistical  charac- 
ter to  pass  unobserved.  We  have  already  remarked, 
that  according  to  the  calculation  of  Count  Dandolo, 
these  almost  microscopic  animalculas  require,  imme- 
diately after  the  hatch,  54,626  to  weigh  one  ounce; 
but  at  the  end  of  the  first  age  3840  worms  ;  at  the  end 
of  the  second  610  ;  at  the  end  of  the  third  144;  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  35 ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  only  six 

•  See  Lardner,  p.  105,  and  Dandolo,  passim. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  271 

are  required  to  weigh  one  ounce.  These  numbers, 
however,  are  respectively  adapted  to  the  Milan  ounce 
of  57G  Milanese  grains  ;  to  533  of  which,  one  avoir- 
dupois ounce  of  437-5  English  grains,  is  equal;  to 
which  if  the  above  numbers  and  ratios  are  reduced, 
they  will  stand  as  follows: 

Immediately  after  hatching,  it  will  require  50,548 
silk  worm  iarva3  to  weigh  one  English  avoirdupois 
ounce ;  at  the  end  of  the  first  age  3553,  when  the 
ratio  of  increase  in  weight  is  more  than  fourteen  times 
the  first  state  of  the  larva;  at  the  end  of  the  second 
age,  564,  the  ratio  of  increase  exceeding  six  times  the 
weight  at  the  end  of  the  first  age ;  at  the  end  of  the 
third  age,  1 33,  the  ratio  on  the  maximum  weight  of  the 
preceding  age  being  more  than  quadruple;  at  the  end 
of  the  fourth  age,  thirty-two,  the  ratio  being  more  than 
four;  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  age,  5,552,  or  little  more 
than  five  and  a  half  worms,  if  well  fed,  will  weigh  one 
English  avoirdupois  ounce,  the  ratio  of  increase  ex- 
ceeding that  of  the  quintuple  on  the  former  state  of 
existence.  But  the  whole  ratio  of  increase  from  the 
hatchment  to  the  full  size  of  the  last  age,  will  be 
908S;  or,  in  round  numbers,  a  single  ounce  of  the 
insects,  each  of  which  at  the  hatch  weighed  less  than 
nine  one-thousandth  parts  of  a  grain,  iii  less  than 
five  weeks,  will  weigh  more  than  9000  ounces ! ! !  That 
is,  a  single  worm  will  at  the  following  specified  stages 
of  its  existence  weigh  respectively  as  stated  below. 

English  Grains. 

At  the  hatch  one  worm  will  weigh '00865 

At  the  end  of  the  1st  age  it  will  weigh -12313 

2tl -77570 

3d 3-28947 

4th 1.3-67187 

5th 78-86023 

or  9000  times  its  first  weight ! 

But  how  does  a  unit  of  any  dimensions  become  in 
live  weeks  9000  such  units  ?  Here  we  cannot  but  re- 
member that  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry,  by  insect- 
chemistry,  arc  marvellously  converted,  1st,  into  a 
worm:  2dly,  into  a  silken  cocoon:  then  Sdly,  by  art 


272  THE    SILK    WORM. 

into  raw  silk,  and  lastly  into  fabrics  finer  than  which 
nothing  can  adorn  the  persons  of  emperors  or  qneens, 
nor  embellish  their  palaces  and  thrones.  During  the 
five  weeks,  one  worm  has  consumed,  on  the  average, 
about  340  grains,  or  twelve  drachms  eleven  grains 
avoirdupois  of  leaves;  more  than  three-fourths  of 
which  have  evidently  passed  off  by  the  pores  and 
other  emunctories;  and  there  remain  of  the  340  grains, 
seventy-eight  and  forty-three  fiftieths*  grains,  trans- 
formed into  the  substance  of  the  worm. 

The  whole  of  this  statement  deduced  from  Count 
Dandolo,  is,  however,  somewhat  at  variance  with 
what  he  has  himself  taught  us  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
volume.t  He  there  observes  that  360  worms  pro- 
duce, on  the  average,  one  pound  and  a  half  of  co- 
coons, and  that  the  silk  worms  proceeding  from  five 
ounces  of  eggs  will  yield  600  pounds  of  cocoons. 
Hence  it  is  evident,!  that  his  calculations  all  through, 
are  for  144,000  surviving  worms  from  five  ounces 
of  eggs;  and  not  for  200,000,  as  some,  calculating  on 
40,000  worms  from  each  of  the  five  ounces,  have 
supposed.  But  this  144,000  from  five  Milanese 
ounces  are  only  equal  to  133,250§  worms  from  five 
English  avoirdupois  ounces;  ox  io  2Q,Q50  surviving 
worms  from  each  avoirdupois  ounce.  If  Mr.  Roberts 
calculates  only  for  100,000  surviving  worms  from 
five  ounces  of  eggs,  or  20,000  from  one,  the  difl'erence 
of  33,250  is  between  him  and  the  count,  in  favour, 
however,  of  the  latter;  or  rather  in  favour  of  the 
count's  argus-eyed  vigilance  and  care,  and  of  the 
superiority  of  the  dundoliere  and  its  almost  self- 
regulating  correctives,  over  that  of  the  comparatively 
chance-helmed    cocoonery.      That   difference,  how- 

*  27'34375  grains  are  equal  to  an  avoirdupois  drachm  ;  but  sixty 
grains  to  a  drachm  apothecaries,  eight  of  which  make  an  ounce  of  apothe- 
caries, or  troy  weight. 

f  Page  195,  et  seq. 

o7o 


THE    SILK    WORM.  273 

ever,  is  one  of  thirty-three  per  cent.,  in  favour  of 
the  ItaHan  patriot  in  silk  culture.  It  follows  that 
when  our  zeal,  our  enthusiasm,  are  equal  to  those  of 
the  indefatigable  Dandolo,  we  shall  have  26,650  sur- 
viving insect  artisans  from  every  ounce  of  eggs ;  or 
26,650  that  live  to  the  cocoon  out  of  every  36,244 
originally  in  the  shell. 

But  the  133,250  survivors  from  five  ounces  of  eggs, 
would  at  the  moment  of  becoming  larvse,  weigh  only 
2  ounces,  10-177  drachms  avoirdupois.*  To  trace 
now  with  accuracy  the  actual  increase  in  weight  from 
the  incipient  larva  to  the  completion  of  the  fifth  age, 
and  then  the  decrease  in  insect  substance,  and  vege- 
table consumption,  to  the  cocoon,  we  refer  once  more 
to  our  most  assiduous  experimentalist.  At  page  195 
he  observes,  "the  result  of  my  experiments  proves 
that  360  silk  worms, which  produce  about  one  pound 
and  a  half  of  cocoons,  weigh,  when  at  their  highest 
grov\'tli  and  size,  three  pounds,  three  ounces  and  a 
half.  The  silk  worms,  after  this,  are  ready,  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  days,  to  begin  their  cocoons, 
and  then  weigh  only  about  two  pounds!  seven  ounces. 
^^'hen  the  silk  worms  begin  to  rise,  they  void  a  quan- 
tity of  nearly  pure  water,  part  of  which  is  sometimes 
discharged  through  the  silk-drawing  tubes,  and  by 
transpiration.  They  also  evacuate  a  small  quantity 
of  solid  substance,  and  then  form  the  cocoon  in  three 
or  four  days :  these  cocoons  altogether  weigh  about 
one  pound  and  a  half.  Let  us  now  imagine  a  labo- 
ratory calculated  to  contain  the  silk  worms  proceeding 

•   1  X  1332.50     „ 

— ,^,,„ —  =2  ounces  10*177  drachms. 
50548 

f  Some  discrepancy  either  in  the  original  translation  or  type  is  evi- 
dent throughout  the  whole  of  this  statement ;  for  here  two  pounds,  seven 
ounces,  are  made  equal  to  the  forty-two  ounces  mentioned  a  few  lines  af- 
terwards. Again,  notwithstanding  that  in  the  appendix  we  are  told  that 
twelve  ounces  make  the  Milanese  pound,  it  is  evident  here,  that  all  the 
count's  reckoning  is  hy  some  pound  of  sixteen  ounces  ;  since 

^ '- — -^ ^=3  lbs.  3^  oz.  which  agrees  with  his  statement ; 

1050X  to 
whilst  twelve  ounces  to  the  pound  do  not. 


274  THE    SILK    WORM. 

from  five  ounces  of  eggs,  and  sufficient  to  produce 
about  six  quintals*  of  cocoons ;  the  following  will 
offer  the  result.  If  360  silk  worms  weigh  three 
pounds,  three  ounces  and  a  half,  when  in  their  utmost 
growth  and  perfection,  it  must  clearly  appear  that  the 
whole  of  the  silk  worms  of  the  laboratory,  which  pro- 
duce 600  pounds  of  cocoons,  will  weigh  1,285  pounds, 
three  ounces,  when  they  reach  their  utmost  growth. 
And  if  the  3G0  silk  worms,  previous  to  beginning 
their  cocoons,  only  weigh  forty-two  ounces,  it  must 
appear  equally  clear,  that  the  whole  of  the  silk  worms 
of  the  laboratory  will  be  about  ten  quintals,  fifty 
pounds.  And  therefore,  in  three  days,  the  silk  worms 
must  have  lost  231  h*  pounds  weight  of  substance, 
either  solid  or  liquid,  from  exhalation  or  steam. 
And  if  after  two  or  three  days,  the  silk  worms  that 
are  reduced  to  ten  quintals  and  fifty  pounds  weight, 
are  changed  into  600  pounds  of  cocoons;  it  is  evident 
that  in  three  or  four  days,  they  must  have  lost  450 
pounds  weight  of  substance  either  in  liquid,  vapour, 
or  gas.  In  the  space  of  six  or  seven  days,  therefore, 
the  bodies  of  the  insects  requisite  to  produce  only  600 
pounds  of  cocoons,  must  have  lost  700  pounds  in 
weight  and  substance.  This  astonishing  quantity 
excreted  from  the  bodies  of  the  worms  in  so  short  a 
time,  is  of  greater  weight  than  the  total  weight  of  the 
cocoons  and  aurelias,  which  only  weigh  600 
pounds." 

By  an  attentive  investigation  of  the  preceding 
statements  of  Count  Dandolo,  it  will  be  suificiently 
evident  that  he  is  calculating  by  the  poids  de  marc 
of  Charlemagne,  equal  to  7561  English  troy  grrans. 
Consequently,  the  144,000  surviving  worms  of  the 
laboratory,  to  which  his  calculations  refer,  and  which 
he  says  at  their  maximum  size  weigh  1285  lbs.  3  oz. 
weigh  9,717,301  English  grains;  or  67-48  grains 
each.     And  the  50,548  larva)  that  immediately  at  the 

•    A  quintal  is  equal  to  100  pounds. 

•f  (128r)  lbs.  3  oz.— 1 050)  =,233  lbs.  3  oz.  ami  not  237^  lbs. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  275 

hatch  weighed  one  ounce,  will  at  their  maximum 
size  weigh  4  cwt.  1  qr.  11  lbs.  4  oz.  10  dr.  17^  grains ; 
that  is,  one  ounce  of  worms  at  the  hatch,  if  well  fed, 
will  in  five  weeks  weigh  487  lbs.  4  oz.  10  drachms, 
17i  grains!  !  We  prefer  this  result  to  the  former  ; 
the  premises  of  which  are  comparatively  vague  and 
approximate. 

But  if  the  calculation  be  referred  to  the  count's 
144,000  surviving  silk  worms  that  were  originally 
five  ^Milanese  ounces  in  the  shell,  and  1285  pounds, 
three  ounces  of  the  same  weight  at  their  maximum 
size,  and  finally  only  600  Milan  pounds  in  the  cocoon, 
and  we  find  that  they  have  consumed  in  their  growth, 
according  to  the  same  authority,  7520  Milan  pounds, 
of  the  white  mulberry  leaves,  it  is  evident  that  nearly 
Jive-sixths  of  the  entire  quantity  of  food  consumed 
by  these  insects  have  passed  ofl'  by  evaporation  and 
otherwise  before  they  attain  their  maximum  size,  and 
more  than  eleven-twelfths  before  the  completion  of 
the  cocoon.  Here  are,  therefore,  eleven-twelfths,  at 
least,  or  6S86  lbs.  of  the  7520  lbs.  that  must  pass  otf 
by  evaporation,  ventilation,  or  in  litter,  before  we  have 
the  consummation  of  the  laboratory  in  cocoons.  "  It 
is  scarcely  credible,"  says  Dandolo,  "  that  the  bodies 
of  the  silk  worm  should  yield  so  much  noxious  mat- 
ter in  a  few  days,  were  it  not  demonstrated  by  posi- 
tive facts.  It  is  needless  to  remark  how  much  this 
large  body  of  exhalation,  were  it  stagnant  in  the 
laboratory,  might  in  the  latter  days  generate  disor- 
ders, and  cause  great  mortality  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  abundant  crop  of  cocoons  was  confidently 
expected.  We  must,  therefore,  deeply  feel  the  neces- 
sity of  attentively  following  the  prescribed  directions 
for  avoiding  this  evil." 

This  is  more  minutely  and  clearly  stated  by  the 
count  in  a  calculation  that  he  afterwards  enters  into 
for  a  single  ounce.  "  The  result  of  the  most  exact 
calculation  is,  that  the  quantity  of  leaves  drawn  from 
the  trees,  employed  for  each  ounce  of  g^2,s,  amounts 


276  THE    SILK    WORM. 

to  one  thousand,  six  hundred  and  nine  pounds,  eight 
ounces,  divided  in  the  following  manner. 

Sorted  leaves.        Refuge    picked  Loss  by  evaporation  &c. 

from  llie  leaves.  during  the  wiiole  period 

lbs.                      lbs.  oz.  ol' picking. 

1st  age 6 1  8  lbs.  oz. 

2(1  18 3  0  105  0 

3d  60 9  0  

4th 180 27  0  142  8 

5th 1098 102  0  1362  0 


1362       142  8  1C09  8 


Relative  to  the  refuse  to  be  picked  from  the  leaves, 
he  observes  :  "  Great  care  must  be  taken  in  picking 
and  sorting  the  leaves  for  the  feeding  of  the  worms 
of  the  first  ages,  such  as  picking  ott'  all  twigs,  stalks, 
spots,  &c.;  and  to  clear  them  as  much  as  possible  from 
all  useless  parts.  This  operation  is  most  essential  in 
the  two  first  ages,  when  the  leaves  are  to  be  chopped 
very  small.  In  the  third  age,  the  sorting  and  picking 
is  not  of  so  much  consequence,  and  still  less  so  in  the 
subsequent  ages.  The  sorting  and  picking  is  of  im- 
portance, inasmuch  as  it  enables  you  to  put  fifteen  or 
twenty  per  cent,  less  substance  on  the  shelves,  than 
would  otherwise  be  done,  which  the  worms  do  not 
eat.  This  substance  increases  the  litter  and  the  mois- 
ture, without  necessity  or  motive.  In  the  two  last 
ages,  leaves  mixed  with  a  quantity  of  boughs  and 
stalks  may  be  put  on  the  hurdles,  although  it  is  known 
that  the  worms  do  not  eat  them ;  because  at  that 
period  it  would  be  too  troublesome  to  sort  so  large  a 
quantity  perfectly,  nor  is  there  the  same  motive  to  do 
so.  These  substances  being  by  this  time  grown  large, 
hard  and  woody,  are  less  liable  to  fermentation,  al- 
though they  may  accumulate  as  litter. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  leaves  distributed  on 
the  hurdles /?ey  ounce  of  eggs  were  1362  lbs.  During 
the  life  of  the  silk  worms  there  has  been  carried  away 
from  the  hurdles, 


THE    SILK    WORM.  277 

In  gross  litter.  Of  which  in  frcal  substance 

existed 
lbs.  oz.   dr.  lbs.  oz.  dr. 

IntheLstage I  4     0 0  1  4 

—  2d 4  8     0 1  3  0 

—  3(] 19  8     0 3  9  4 

—  4lh 60  0     0 18  9  4 

—  5th 660  0     0 132  0  0 


745     8     0  155     7     4 


Deducting  155  lbs,  7  oz.  4  drs.  from  745  lbs.  8  oz., 
there  will  remain  590  lbs.  4  drs.  of  vegetable  substance; 
namely,  in  stalks,  fruit,  fragments,  &c.  not  eaten  by  the 
worms;  and  subtracting  the  590  lbs.  4  drs.  from  1362 
lbs.  that  had  been  laid  on  the  hurdles,  it  will  appear 
that  the  worms  have  only  really  consumed  771  lbs. 
7  oz.  4  drs.  of  pure  leaves.  From  which  statement  it 
ensues, 

1.  That  to  obtain  a  pound  and  a  half  of  cocoons,  it 
requires  about  20  lbs.  4  oz.  of  leaves,  as  gathered  from 
the  trees;  and  that  it  requires  1G09  lbs.  8  oz.  to  ob- 
tain 120  lbs.  of  cocoons^ivhich  an  ounce  of  eggs  should 
yield. 

2.  That  this  quantity  of  leaves  gathered  from  the 
tree,  deducting  142  lbs.  8  oz.  of  refuse  and  sorting, 
and  105  of  decrease,  by  means  of  evaporation,  it  only 
requires  16  lbs.  8  oz.  of  pure  leaf  per  lb.  of  cocoons, 
or  1362  lbs.  for  120  lbs.  of  cocoons. 

3.  That  subtracting  from  the  1362  lbs.  the  590  lbs. 
4  drs.  of  residue,  such  as  branches,  stalks,  fruit,  &c. 
which  were  taken  off  the  hurdles  with  the  litter,  9|  lbs. 
of  pure  leaf  have  been  sufficient  to  obtain  1^  lbs. 
of  cocoons;  and  consequently  771  lbs.  of  leaves 
effectually  eaten  have  sulficed  to  obtain  120  lbs.  of 
cocoons. 

4.  That  the  1362  lbs.  of  leaves  distributed  on  the 
hurdles,  having  only  yielded  745  lbs.  12  oz.  of  gross 
litter,  and  120  lbs.  cocoons,  in  all  making  865  lbs.  12 
oz.;  there  is  a  loss  escaped  in  gas,  vapour  and  steam 
in  the  laboratory  of  496  lbs.  4  oz. 

24 


278  THE    SILK    WORM. 

5.  That  in  a  laboratory  conlaining  the  worms  pro 
ceeding  from  5  oz.  of  eggs,  there  must  have  escaped 
on  each  of  the  last  six  days  of  the  fifth  age,  300  or 
450  lbs.  of  gas  and  vapour,  invisibly  to  the  eye. 

These  latter  statements  present  strong  evidence 
how  formidable  the  enemies  are  which  assail  the 
laboratory,  and  the  need  of  ventilation. 

It  is  considered  astonishing  that  one  single  worm, 
which,  when  first  hatched,  only  weighs  the  hundredth 
part  of  a  grain,  should  consume,  in  about  thirty  days, 
above  an  ounce  of  leaves ;  that  is  to  say,  that  it  de- 
vours in  vegetable  substance  about  60,000  times  its 
primitive  weight. 

Fads  relative  to  the  increase  and  decrease  of  silk  worms  in  weight 
and  size. 

Progressive  Increase.  grs. 

100  worms  just  hatched  weigh 1 

After  the  1st  moulting , 1& 

—  2d 94 

—  3d 400 

—  4th 1628 

On  attaining  the  greatest  size 9500 

Thus  have  they,  within  five  weeks,  increased  9500  times  their  primi 
tive  weight. 

Progressive  Decrease.  grs. 

100  silk  worms,  when  arrived  at  the  highest  >  77fjA 

state  of  maturity,  size,  and  perfection,  weigh  5 

100  chrysalides  weigh 3900 

100  female  moths  weigh 2990 

100  male  moths  weigh 1700 

100  female  moths,  after  depositing  eggs  .......  980 

100  female  moths  dying  naturally,  after  having  7  o.^ 

laid  the  eggs,  and  nearly  quite  dried 5 

Space  Statistics.  Animals  that  increase  so  ra- 
pidly in  weight,  must  also  increase  in  size.  The 
infant  worm,  at  the  moment  it  ceases  to  be  an  em- 
bryo, is  only  one  line,  (one-twelfth  of  an  inch,)  in  ' 
length :  or  its  length  through  its  successive  periods 
may  be  thus  stated  : 


THE    SILK    WORM.  279 

lines.      inch. 
The  length  of  the  silk  worm  when  just  hatched  is  equal  to     1    =  JL 
After  the  1st  moulting  its  length  is 4  =     | 

—  2d 6=1 

—  3d 12  =    1 

—  4th 20   =    If 

—  5th 40   =  3A 

The  length  of  the  silk  worm  is  thus  increased  forty 
times  within  five  weeks.  But  its  length,  from  the 
period  of  the  largest  growth  until  it  changes  into  the 
chrysalis,  diminishes  about  two-fifths. 

The  increase,  however,  in  bulk  of  the  silk  worm, 
throughout  its  progressive  ages,  is  a  matter  of  prac- 
tical consequence.  All  writers  on  this  topic,  except 
Mr.  Strong,  seem  agreed,  jurare  in  verba  magisfri, 
to  follow  Dandolo.  The  latter  says,  the  worms  pro- 
ceeding from  one  ounce  of  eggs,  should  have  a  space — 

ft.  in. 

In  the  I  st  age  of. 7  4  square. 

—  2d 14  8     — 

—  3d 34  6     — 

—  4th 82  6     — 

—  5th 183  4     — 

Dr.  Lardner  increases  a  little  these  dimensions. 
But  as,  in  a  case  of  this  nature,  too  much  rather  than 
too  little,  is  the  better  error  of  the  two,  by  merely 
rejecting  the  fraction,  and  taking  the  next  greater 
integer,  we  furnish  the  following  table,  adapted  to 
any  quantity  of  worms,  proceeding  from  one  ounce 
to  ten  ounces. 


Ages. 

Feet  square  requisite  on  the  shelves,  for  woi~ms proceeding 
from 

Ooe 
Ouuce. 

Tno 

Ounces. 

Three 
Ounces. 

Four 
Ounces. 

Five 
Ounces. 

Sis 

Ounces. 

Seven 
Ounces. 

EishI 
Ounces 

Nine 
Ounces. 

Ten 
Ounces. 

1 

8 

16 

24 

32 

40 

48 

56 

64 

72 

80 

2 

15 

30 

45 
105 
249 

60 
140 
332 

75 

90 

105 

120 

135 

150 

3 

35 

70 

175 

210 

245 

581 
1288 

280 

664 

1472 

315 

350 

4 

83 

166 

415 

498 

747 

830 

5 

184 

368 

552 

736 

920 

1104 

1656 

1840 

280 


THE    SILK    WORM. 


Mr.  Strong  of  Germantown,  from  an  experiment 
with  five  ounces,  furnishes  from  the  seventh  to  the 
thirty-third  day,  the  following  statement,  by  qnoting 
the  number  of  hurdles  requisite  each  twelve  square 
feet. 


Days. 

HurJles. 

Days. 

Hurdles. 

Days. 

Hurdles 

7... 

lU 

16... 

34 

25. . . 

70 

8... 

13 

13 

17... 

18... 

34 

34 

26... 

70 

9... 

27... 

87 

10... 

13 

19... 

34 

28... 

87 

11... 

13 

20. . . 

34 

29... 

87 

12... 

18 

21... 

34 

30... 

87 

13. 

27 

27 

30 

22. . . 

51 

31... 
32. . . 
33. . . 

90 

14. 

23 

.  ..51 

108 

15... 

24... 

70 

....112 

CHAPTER   III. 


ON  THE  REARING  OF  SILK  WORMS  FROM  THE  FIRST 
APPEARANCE  OF  THE  LARVA  UNTO  THE  CHRYSA- 
LIS   OR    COCOON. 


In  the  preceding  parts  of  this  work  we  have  already 
attended  to  the  preparation  of  the  food,  the  house, 
the  establishment,  and  furniture  for  the  insect  family, 
that,  for  five  or  six  weeks,  we  intend  to  be  our  sum- 
mer guests,  and  we  have  not  been  negligent  in  giving 
precaution  against  the  contingencies  that  might  assail 
it  from  disease  or  vermin.  That  family,  after  the 
hatchment,  to  which  also  we  have  paid  due  atten- 
tion, is  already  announcing  its  approach  on  our 
threshold  ;  and  the  all-important  question  is,  if  it  is 
ready  to  partake  of  our  bounty,  and  repay  us  libe- 
rally in  silken  wealth, are  we  equally  so,  to  satisfy,  to 
the  utmost,  its  physical  wants,  and  to  protect  it  against 
the  insidious  enemies,  visible  or  invisible,  to  which  it 
is  liable. 

The  food  necessary  to  supply  its  wants,  and  the 


THE    SILK    WORM.  281 

means  requisite  to  maintain  its  health,  must  become 
prominent  parts  of  this  chapter.  In  a  word,  la  table 
d^hute,  the  air,  ventilation,  temperature,  and  all  the 
etiquette  of  daily  service,  must  constitute  the  parts 
and  parcels  of  the  panoramic  evolution  now  before 
us.  Perhaps  we  had  better  put  something  of  the 
latter  first,  since,  when  health  is  wanting,  the  host 
has  little  to  do  in  the  market ;  for  when  the  doctor  is 
wanted,  the  cook  has  a  holyday. 

Notwithstanding  our  propensity  to  vituperate  the 
men  of  two  thousand  years  ago,  for  their  heathenism, 
superstition,  &c.,  their  common  sense  maxims,  un- 
altered in  validity  to  this  day,  are  often,  against  our 
resolutions  to  the  contrary,  occurring  to  our  recol- 
lection. ^^Est  modus  m  rebus  ;  stent  certi  denique 
Jines,  quos  ultra,  citraque  neqidt  consistere  rectum.^' 
There  is  a  medium  (a  middle  path  between  two  ex- 
tremes) in  all  things ;  in  short,  there  are  certain 
limits  on  either  side  of  which,  rectitude  (prosperity  or 
success)  cannot  exist.  By  observing  which  -'  aurea 
inediocrifas,^^  golden  mean,  we  may  in  ninety-nine 
cases  out  of  a  hundred,  escape  the  Scylla  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  Charybdis  on  the  other. 

If  we  peruse  the  works  of  European  culturists, 
we  read  the  works  of  men  that  have  to  combat  Avith 
the  north-western  blasts,  nearly  three-fourths  of  all 
that  blow  in  the  year,  that  sweep  the  immeasurable 
vapours  of  the  Atlantic  on  European  shores.  Hence 
we  hear  of  the  artillery  of  their  thermometers,  ther- 
mometrographs,  barometers,  hygrometers,  pluviome- 
ters, eudiometers,  flash-fires,  and  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  a  Dandoliere.  Here  is  one  extreme  ;  suitable  in- 
deed, at  least  to  western  Europe,  and  for  some  parts, 
even  this  is  scarcely  sufficient.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  extreme,  the  unparalleled  felicity  of  this  climate, 
by  some  is  so  preached  up,  a  climate  so  isothermal 
with  that  of  China,  where  silk  worms,  as  some  dream, 
will  live  and  thrive,  whether  any  attention  is  paid  to 
them  or  not,  as  if  here  care  as  to  temperature  is 
never  necessary,  whether  a  similar  season  to  the  year 

24* 


282  THE    SILK    WORM. 

181 G  should  occur  again  or  not,  or  without  inquiring 
at  what  degree  all  the  liquid  gum  in  the  secretors  of 
the  insect  congeals,  when  all  its  previous  toil,  without 
an  instant  restoration  of  warmth,  is  rendered  nugatory 
and  useless. 

Unless  we  can  in  all  climates  of  this  Union  from 
Maine  to  Louisiana,  and  in  all  years,  through  May 
and  June  at  least,  promise  ourselves  a  temperature 
not  less  than  75°,  the  use  of  a  thermometer,  and  of 
means  requisite,  if  necessity  exist,  of  raising  the  tem- 
perature to  that  degree,  is  advisable.  Count  Dandolo, 
in  giving  us  his  prescript,  as  to  the  successful  rearing 
of  the  silk  worm  to  the  cocoon  says,  "  1  must  suppose 
that  the  silk  worms  are  kept  until  the  first  moulting 
at  75°  of  temperature  ;  between  73°  and  75°  until  the 
second  moulting ;  between  71°  and  73°  until  the  third; 
and  lastly  between  68°  and  71°  until  the  fourth  moult- 
ing." One  of  the  foundations  of  the  art  of  rearing 
silk  worms  is  to  know  the  various  degrees  of  heat 
in  which  the  silk  worms  should  live ;  if  this  precept 
be  not  enforced,  nothing  can  be  performed  with  ex- 
actness.* 

*  On  this  subject  the  writer  of  an  article  on  silk  worms  inserted  in  M. 
Rozier's  Course  of  Ac^riculture,  Paris  edition,  1801,  thus  expresses  him- 
self relative  to  heat  suitable  to  the  constitution  and  operations  of  these 
inilustrious  animals. 

"  It  cannot  be  said  that  silk  worms  are  injured  by  any  deijree  of  heat 
in  these  climates,  however  considerable  it  may  be.  Native  of  Asia,  it 
must  needs  be  accustomed  to  heat  more  intense  than  it  can  experience  in 
Europe.  But  the  sudden  changes  from  moderate  to  violent  heat,  or  the 
reverse,  are  injurious.  In  its  native  climate  it  is  not  exposed  to  those 
vicissitudes,  and,  therefore,  thrives  well,  without  requirinn  all  the  care 
we  are  obliged  to  bestow  on  it.  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that 
it  is  not  heat  that  alVects  the  silk  worm,  but  sudden  transitions  from  one 
temperature  to  another.  Such  as  making  it  pass  from  fi8°  to  77° 
in  one  day.  If  it  be  necessary  to  hasten  the  worms  in  consequence 
of  the  advanced  state  of  the  mulberry  leaf,  which  cannot  be  retarded, 
it  should  be  done  gradually,  so  that  they  perceive  not  the  alteration. 
M.  Boissier  de  Sauvagues  will  show  us  by  his  experiments,  to  what 
degree  the  heat  may  be  raised  in  rearing  silk  worms,  without  fear 
of  injuring  them.  '  One  year,  when  hurried  by  the  early  growth 
of  the  mulberry  leaves,  which  were  developed  towards  the  latter  end 
of  April,  I  gave  the  silk  worms   100°  of  heat  during  the  two  firs^ 


THE    SILK    WORM.  283 

On  the  subject  of  the  amount  of  food  necessary  to 
be  given  to  any  given  quantity  of  worms,  Mr.  Com- 
stock  says,  "  though  we  have  not  much  faith  in  feed- 
ing worms  by  arbitrary  mathematical  rules,  yet  as 
they  may  be  of  some  practical  use  to  the  culturist,  in 
ascertaining  the  amount  of  food  necessary  to  be  pro- 
vided for  his  family  of  worms,  we  give  them,  in  brief 
extracts,  from  the  manual  published  by  authority  of 
Congress  in  1S28,  In  doing  this,  we  shall  give  the 
amount    prescribed    on    each    consecutive    day    of 


days  after  hatching,  and  about  95°  during  the  remainder  of  the  first 
and  second  age,  there  elapsed  only  nine  days  from  the  hatching  until 
the  second  moulting  inclusively.  The  walls  and  wicker  hurdles  were 
so  heated  that  they  could  scarcely  be  touched.  All  thought  they  must 
perish ;  but  all  went  on  well,  and  to  their  great  surprise,  I  had  a  most 
abundant  crop.  I  afterwards  tried  giving  the  silk  worms  in  their  first 
age  from  93°  to  95°  ;  89^  to  91°  in  the  second  aG;e,  and  it  is  remarkable, 
that  the  duration  of  these  two  ages  was  nearly  similar  to  that  of  the  pre- 
ceding experiment.  It  is  singular  that  these  worms  thus  hastened  in  their 
two  first  stages,  consume  only  five  days  m  moulting  the  tiiird  and  fourth 
time,  although  with  only  a  tempeiature  of  82°;  whilst  those  worms  that 
have  not  been  hastened,  take  seven  or  eight  days  for  each  of  the  two  last 
moultings  in  an  exactly  similar  di^gree  of  temperature.  It  appears  suf- 
ficient to  have  given  the  constitution  of  the  insect  an  impetus  to  re- 
gulate the  quick  succession  of  its  changes.  This  mipetus  which  we 
have  descrihed,  as  productive  of  such  accelerated  growth,  also  gives  the 
insect  additional  vigour  and  activity,  which  they  preser^'e  through  their 
after  ages,  and  prevents  diseases.  Thus  the  hastened  or  forced  cultiva- 
tion presents  a  double  advantage.  It  also  shortens  the  care  and  at- 
tendance necessary  for  silk  worms,  and  sooner  terminates  the  solicitude 
of  the  cultivator,  who  must  necessary  feel  anxiety  until  the  cocoon  is 
gathered.  To  follow  this  method  it  is  requisite  to  observe  well  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  season ;  the  shooting  of  the  mulberry  leaf,  whether  it 
is  checked  by  cold;  if,  again,  the  growth  of  the  leaf  is  delayed,  and  the 
heat  shoulJ  soon  after  set  in,  and  ripen  it  more  quickly  than  was  ex- 
pected, it  would  be  advantageous  then  to  hasten  the  vi'omis  by  heat;  for 
if  they  are  allowed  to  delay  from  want  of  heat,  their  first  age  is  prolong- 
ed, and  the  mulberry  leaf  will  grow,  and  harden,  and  become  unfit  for 
them.  The  essential  point  is  that  their  progress  should  follow  that  of  the 
mulberry  leaf.  If  cultivators  adopt  this  metliod,  they  must  put  the  eggs 
to  hatch  ten  days  later  than  they  would  require  to  be  laid  to  hatch  in 
the  ordinary  way.  And  they  must  calculate  the  duration  of  the  dif- 
ferent ages  of  the  worm,  and  so  manage  that  the  completion  of  the  rear- 
ing or  fourth  age  should  fall  into  die  time  in  which  the  leaf  has  attained 
its  full  growth.' " 


284  THE    SILK    WORM. 

their  life,  without  regard  to  the  day  of  their  respective 
ages." 

But  that  work  as  well  as  every  other  manual  pub- 
lished in  this  country,  are  evidently  derived  from  the 
canons  of  Dandolo  :  and  what  is  certainly  very  singu- 
lar, every  one  of  them  appears  to  be  under  a  complete 
misconception  relative  to  the  number  of  worms  for 
which  the  prescript  of  our  Italian  oracle  is  given. 
Hence  Count  Dandolo,  Count  de  Hazzi,  and  M.  Bona- 
foux,  have  been  understood  as  prescribing  diiferent 
quantities  of  leaves  for  the  same  number  of  worms. 
Whereas  a  little  investigation  would  have  shown  that 
instead  of  discrepancy,  the  different,  not  the  same 
number  of  worms  as  most  imagiiie^they  contemplate 
being  considered,  there  is  evidently  a  remarkable 
agreement  in  the  three  authorities  quoted. 

To  show,  however,  that  some  discrepancy  in  their 
proportions  have  been  commonly  understood,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  quote  as  follows  from  Mr.  Com- 
stock :  "  Count  Dandolo  calculates  that  200,000 
worms  will  consume  7000  lbs.  of  leaves.  Count  de 
Hazzi  calculates  that  the  same  number  of  worms 
will  require  10,000  lbs.  of  leaves.  Mr.  Bonafoux 
says  that  200,000  worms  were  sustained  by  7217 
lbs.  of  leaves.  The  quantity,  however,  given  them 
between  the  regular  meals  was  not  taken  into  the 
account,  and  the  leaves  were  chopped  during  the 
first  stages,  which  enables  the  worms  to  consume 
them  with  less  waste." 

We  now  arrive  at  another  version  of  Count  Dan- 
dolo's  meaning,  in  Mr.  Roberts'  Manual,  where  we 
read,  "  the  quantity  of  food  is  the  proportion  given 
to  the  worms  hatched  from  five  ounces  of  eggs, 
which  according  to  our  reading,  means  100,000  !" 
Here  is  discrepancy,  the  one  supposes  the  count,  by 
five  ounces,  to  mean  and  provide  for  200,000  worms, 
the  other  for  only  100,000  !  How  ungracious  must 
this  said  count  have  been,  to  put  our  mathematics  to 
so  severe  a  test  as  to  divine  what  number  of  worms 
he  really  did  mean  by  five  ounces  of  eggs. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  2S5 

Though  the  count  does  not  inform  us  of  the  num- 
ber of  worms  of  the  feeding  of  which  he  furnishes 
us  an  example,  yet  his  statistics  are  clear,  and  will 
atibrd  data  sufficient  to  satisfy  such  further  inquiries 
as  are  necessary.  They  are  founded  on  a  basis, 
fixed,  from  which,  in  general  illustration,  he  does 
not  swerve,  that  whilst  it  serves  as  a  well  defined 
unit,  in  consequence,  admits  of  variations  such  as 
the  contingencies  he  supposes  may  occasion.  Hence 
we  are  duly  informed  that  in  the  example  given  for 
general  instruction,  the  experiment  is  not  with  the 
small  worm  of  three  moultings,  for  then  should  we 
have  42,620  eggs  to  the  Milanese  ounce  ;  nor  yet  with 
the  large  silk  worm  obtained  from  Friuli,  when  our 
calculations  would  have  reference  to  37,440  eggs  to 
the  ounce  ;  but  to  what  he  defines  as  the  "  covimon 
silk  luorm  of  four  viotiliiugs,"  whose  eggs  he  inva- 
riably quotes  at  39,168  to  tlie  ounce  of  jNiilan.  This, 
then,  is  the  common  measure,  or  measuring  unit  of 
the  count's  statistics,  and  to  which  his  subsequent 
proportio'ns  refer.  It  is  not  39,168  Avorms,  but  39,168 
eggs  ;  and  how  many  of  the  former  the  latter  will  be, 
we  are  duly  inf.nmed  will  depend  on  circumstances, 
not  merely  on  the  quality  and  preservation  of  the 
eggs,  but  on  our  careful  and  vigilant  attention,  not 
only  in  the  hatch,  but  in  the  whole  management  of 
this  interesting  and  profitable  animal.  From  this 
unit,  //;/.$  starti7ig  place,  we  are,  then,  guided  by  a 
skilful  hand,  and  our  next  step  is  to  know  that  the 
quantity  to  which  the  count's  feeding  proportions 
refer,  is  the  worms  proceeding  fro-m  five  ounces  of 
the  kind  of  eggs  specified.  Hence  the  assumption  is 
not  warranted  that  the  Italian  experimentalist  is 
giving  us  a  lesson  on  feeding  five  times  39,168  or 
195,840  worms,  much  less  200,000,  as  some  have 
supposed,  as  if  40,000  were  the  proceed  of  an  ounce  ; 
nor  is  tliere  on  the  other  hand,  any  need,  in  making 
liberal  allowances  for  negligent  culture,  to  sink  so 
low  in  the  calculation,  as  to  suppose  that  five  ounces 
will  only  yield  100,000  surviving  worms,  or  20,000 


286  THE    SILK    WORM. 

to  the  ounce,  provided  that  we  devote  to  the  under- 
taking any  thing  hko  the  almost  paternal  care  of  the 
patriarch  Dandolo.  He  that  manifests  devotedness 
like  his  to  any  grand  object  of  mitional  industry,  is 
questionless  the  true  patriot ;  a  word,  whether  derived 
from  pater  or  patina,  in  spite  of  our  etymological 
subtleties,  implies  some  thing  parental.  We  are 
aware  of  the  allowances  to  be  made  for  the  occa- 
sional foibles  of  every  devoted  parent :  we  have 
made  them  ;  we  have  rejected  the  chaff  and  retain 
only  the  wheat ;  and  have  the  offspring,  the  silk 
culture,  of  full  stature  and  healthy  condition,  and 
such  as  is  capable  of  the  reproduction  of  its  own 
like  in  these  transatlantic  climes. 

After  making  these  allowances,  we  are  prepared 
to  say,  that  out  of  all  the  numerous  authors  on  this 
subject,  whether  of  Asia,  Europe,  or  America,  with 
which  we  have  long  been  acquainted,  we  know  of 
not  one  to  whom  he  is  second.  All  the  rest  are 
either  copyists,  or  the  care,  the  minuteness,  the 
science,  they  exemplify,  will  admit  of  no  comparison 
with  those  of  the  archetype  of  Varese.  It  is,  per- 
haps, time,  therefore,  that  he  should  speak  for  him- 
self. 

At  page  195  he  says,  "The  result  of  my  experiments 
proves  that  360  silk  worms,  produce  about  one  pound 
and  a  half  of  cocoons."  Therefore  240  silk  worms 
of  the  kind,  constantly  implied,  and  fed  from  the  white 
mulberry  with  the  care  he  supposes,  yield,  on  the 
average  one  pound  of  cocoons.  And  from  this  doc- 
trine he  does  not  vacillate  throughout  the  whole  of  his 
statistical  inferences.  Deviations,  indeed,  he  supposes 
possible,  but  they  are  always  considered  by  him  as 
the  result  of  some  corresponding  variation  from  the 
management,  the  example  of  which  he  proposes  to 
our  view  as  the  standard.  We  thus,  therefore,  obtain 
a  kind  of  measuring  equation,  which  will  enable  us 
to  decipher  not  only  the  contingent  fluctuations  above 
or  below  the  zero,  which  he  contenrplates  as  the 
standard,  but  also  to  ascertain  the  number  oi surviving 


THE    SILK    WORM.  287 

worms  which  he  evidently  supposes,  whether  from 
one,  five,  or  any  other  number  of  ounces,  to  be  varia- 
ble and  not  fixed,  unless  the  conditions  he  specifies  be 
fulfilled. 

On  this  point  his  language  is  sufficiently  definite. 
"  I  must  make  a  few  general  remarks  on  the  enor- 
mous difterence  in  results,  which  real  care,"  or  the 
want  of  it,  "produces.  I  do  not  here  mean  to  allude 
to  the  slight  and  partial  dilTerences,  that  may  be  con- 
sidered as  only  exceptions  and  accidental,  but  of  those 
which  are  caused  by  ignorant  and  ill-directed  ma- 
nagement. Hitherto  it  has  been  generally  thought,  in 
quoting  facts  and  experiments,  that  whatever  were 
the  quantity  of  eggs  intended  for  a  laboratory,  the  quan- 
tity of  cocoons  never  bore  any  proportion  to  that  of  the 
eggs;  but  that  on  the  contrary  the  greater  the  quantity 
of  eggs,  the  less  the  proportion  of  cocoons."  This  is, 
questionless,  an  expose  of  the  mismanagement  and 
negligence  existing  even  in  the  silk  districts  of  Italy, 
before  Dandolo  taught  there  a  more  correct  and  phi- 
losophical doctrine. 

"  These  diff"erences  it  should  be  known,  do  not  de- 
pend on  the  organization  or  natural  condition  of  the 
silk  worm,  but  are  solely  to  he  ascribed  to  error  and 
ignorance.  Facts,  and  most  evident  reason  surely 
prove  that,  if  the  silk  worms  have  had  space,  if  the 
degrees  of  temperature  have  been  exactly  regulated, 
if  the  necessary  quantity  and  quality  of  food  have 
been  given,  and  that  all  the  care  I  have  recommended 
has  been  practised,  the  quantity  of  cocoons  should  be 
and  always  will  be,  proportioned  to  the  quantity 
of  eggs  that  were  hatched.  Those  who  do  yiot  obtain 
this  result  should  attribute  their  failure  to  the  er- 
roneous system  they  have  adopted.  My  laboratories 
are  of  various  sizes ;  that  which  I  am  going  to  de- 
scribe is  calculated  for  the  reception  of  the  tuorms 
proceeding  from  five  ounces  of  eggs.  The  other 
laboratories  equally  yield  cocoons  in  proportion  to 
the  eggs  which  I  have  hatched." 


288  THE    SILK    WORM. 

"I  should  allow  the  advantage  of  my  manner  of 
rearing  silk  worms  to  be  most  trifling,  if  it  were  only 
in  the  produce  of  the  110  or  120  lbs.  of  cocoons 
from  each  ounce  of  eggs,  which  otliers  obtain,  con- 
suming the  same  quantity  of  leaves,  and  ditfering  only 
in  the  hatching  of  two  ounces  of  eggs.  But  as  I  said 
before,  the  great  and  principal  aim  of  the  art  of  rear- 
ing silk  worms,  is  to  obtain  from  one  given  quantity 
of  mulberry  leaves  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
cocoons  of  the  finest  quality.  It  is  not  the  trifling  loss 
of  an  ounce  of  eggs  which  should  induce  a  change  of 
system,  but  the  following  advantages :  for  it  is  a  true 
fact,  that 

"1.  When,  with  one  ounce  of  eggs,  110  or  120  lbs, 
of  cocoons  are  obtained,  about  1650  lbs.  of  the  mul- 
berry leaf  will  be  used. 

"2.  That  when  only  55  or  60  lbs.  of  cocoons  are 
produced  from  one  ounce  of  eggs,  about  1050  lbs.  of 
mulberry  leaves  have  been  used."  Under  this  sup- 
position it  would  appear  that  2100  lbs.  of  leaves 
are  requisite  to  produce  llOo;-  120  lbs.  of  cocoons! 

"3.  That  110  or  120  lbs.  of  cocoons  obtained  from 
one  ounce  of  eggs,  are  worth  a  great  deal  more  than 
a  similar  quantity  procured  from  two  ounces  of  eggs. 
It  is  easy  to  prove  these  facts  rational. 

"  I  stated  that  39,168  eggs,  which  constitute  one 
ounce,  might  produce  about  165  lbs.  of  cocoons." 
That  is  on  the  supposition  that  the  39,168  eggs  be- 
come 39,168  worms,  and  that  they  survive,  and  pro- 
duce each  a  cocoon. 

"  If,  on  this  statement,  we  consider  the  loss  of 
worms  to  be  great,  when  we  obtain  only  120  lbs.  of 
cocoons  from  one  ounce  of  eggs,  the  loss  will  be 
essentially  greater,  should  we  only  obtain  60  lbs.  It 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  by  this  s^rcater  mortality, 
a  greater  consumption  of  leaves  should  result,  as  the 
worms  which  do  not  reach  the  consummation  of  the 
cocoon,  feed  more  or  less,  as  well  as  those  which 
uccomplish  the  cocoon. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  289 

"  The  great  mortality  of  the  worms  must  also  affect 
the  quality  of  the  cocoon.  For  who  could  suppose 
that  two-thirds  of  the  ico7'ms  proceeding  from  one 
ounce  of  eggs  should  die  without  some  error  or  want 
of  care?  In  this  case,  are  we  not  justified  in  think- 
ing that  part  of  those  that  remain  are  weakened 
and  injured?  This  inference  would  be  still  more 
forcible,  if,  as  it  frequently  happens,  that  the  60  lbs. 
of  cocoons  be  reduced,"  (what,  in  Italy?)  "to  45,  to 
30,  15  lbs.,  &c. 

"  Whereas,  if  one  ounce  of  eggs  should  produce,  by 
the  means  I  have  stated,  120  lbs.  of  cocoons,  they 
tvill  be  fine,  and  will  sell  ivell.  360  worms  will  pro- 
duce Ih  lbs,  of  cocoons,  (i.  e.  240  to  the  pound,)  and 
11  or  12  ounces  of  these  cocoons  will  yield  an  ounce 
of  exquisitely  fine  silk.  But  when  only  50  or  60  lbs. 
of  cocoons  proceed  from  an  ounce  of  eggs,  it  may  be 
generally  presumed  that  they  are  of  inferior  quality 
and  uot  so  valuable,  and  that  it  will  require  400  at 
least  to  make  1^  lbs.,  (about  267  worms  to  one  pound 
of  cocoons,)  and  above  13  ounces  of  these  cocoons, 
instead  of  II  or  12  ounces,  will  be  wanted  to  form  one 
ounce  of  silk. 

"  Moreover,  when  the  worms  have  not  been  pro- 
perly managed,  there  is  no  certainty  as  to  the  quan- 
tity of  cocoons  that  will  be  gathered  ;  and  it  happens 
continually,  tliat  the  same  cultivator  will,  from  the 
same  quantity  of  eggs,  and  the  same  quality  in  the 
leaves,  obtain  at  one  time  a  number  of  cocoons,  at 
another  time  few,  and  sometimes  none.  It  would  be 
interesting  therefore,  as  well  to  the  government  as  to 
the  individual,  to  compare  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  the  cocoons  produced  on  my  plan  with  those  pro- 
duced on  the  system  which  is  generally  adopted.  If 
it  were  afterwards  calculated,  the  loss  occasioned  by 
ignorance  every  year  would  doubtless  cause  astonish- 
ment." 

Independently  of  the  valuable  information  of  prac- 
tical  consequence,  that  we  gain  through  these  re- 
marks, we  also  learn  that  the  count's  ratio  between 
25 


290  THE    SILK    WORM. 

the  number  of  worms  that  arrive  at  maturity  to  spin, 
and  tlie  weight  in  Milan  pounds  of  cocoons  is  240; 
that  is,  if  the  whole  be  conducted  with  that  degree  of 
skill  and  care,  which  is  necessary  to  constitute  the 
medium,  the  unit  of  statistical  calculation,  and  that  to 
which  the  count's  proportions,  given  in  the  diary,  con- 
stantly refer.  And  as  he  also  reckons,  on  the  same 
condition,  on  120  lbs.  of  cocoons  to  the  ounce  of 
eggs,  it  is  evident  that  he  is  supposing  that  he  is 
making  a  continued  provision  for  120  times  240  for 
every  ounce  of  eggs  in  his  laboratory ;  or  for  28,800 
siirviviuff  worms  proceeding  from  the  39,168  eggs 
that  constitute  a  Milan  ounce  ;  which  makes  the  am- 
ple allowance  of  10,368  for  such  contingency  and 
mortality  as  might  occur,  on  the  average  of  seasons 
and  circumstances,  even  under  the  unremitting  vigi- 
lance of  a  Dandolo.  Now  as  he  here  expressly  in- 
forms us  that  he  is  making  provision  for  live  such 
onnces,  or  five  times  28,800,  and  since  he  elsewhere, 
at  least,  twice  says,  that  experience  authorizes  him  to 
expect  from  such  an  example  as  he  presents  us  for 
general  illustration,  600  lbs.  of  cocoons,  which  as 
before  observed  are  at  the  rate  of  240  worms  to  the 
pound,  from  these  separate  and  distinct  premises, 
240  X  120  X  5,  and  600  x  240  we  arrive  at  the 
same  resnlt,  viz.  14 1,000  surviving  ivormfi,  or  the 
ivorms  which  out  of  Jive  Milan  ounces  of  the  eggs  of 
the  common  silk  worm  of  four  moultings  will,  with 
the  very  practicable  care,  and  laudable  zeal  of  Dan- 
dolo, on  the  average  of  seasons  and  circjunstances, 
ultimatebj,  spin  cocoons.  But  it  is  here  unnecessary 
to  reduce  these  Milan  ponnds  or  ounces,  or  the  num- 
ber of  eggs  or  worms  to  which  they  refer,  to  English 
ounces  or  pounds  ;  since  as  the  quantity  of  leaves 
prescribed  for  each  day,  is  administered  by  the  same 
kind  of  weight,  the  proportionality  will  be  not  dis- 
turbed. Hence  the  quantity  of  leaves  prescribed  for 
every  day  of  the  diary  of  Count  Dandolo,  is  neither 
for  the  200,000  worms  seen  through  the  co/ivex  glasses 
of  Judge  Comstock,   nor    for    the   100,000   viewed 


THE    SILK    WORM.  291 

through  the  concave  lens  of  Mr.  Roberts,  but  for  the 
144,000  surviving  worms /;re^e5^/;za/e<i  not  by  Cal- 
vin's but  by  Dandolo's  decrees,  under  implied  cir- 
cumstances, out  of  five  JMilanese  ounces,  to  spin 
cocoons.  "With  this  understanding  we  shall  find  that 
the  proportions  prescribed  respectively  by  Count  Dan- 
dolo,  Count  de  Hazzi  and  jNI.  Bonafoux,  are  consist- 
ent, and  are  not  either  discrepant  or  contradictory 
as  they  have  been  erroneously  represented.  The 
xchole  consideration  terminates  in  the  simple  re- 
sult that  10,000  lbs.  of  white  mulberry  leaves 
are  necessary,  during  the  Jive  iceeks  of  feeding  for 
200,000  silk  worms ;  and  consequently  0)ic  pound 
of  the  same  kind  of  leaves  are  requisite  for  every  20 
ivornis.  That  is,  350  grains  at  least  to  constitute 
from  68  to  73  grains  in  the  substance  of  the  insect 
at  its  maximum  size  ;  and  therefore  12  lbs.  of  white 
mulberry  leaves,  at  least,  are  necessary,  to  produce 
one  pound  of  cocoons,  and  between  eight  and  nine 
times  that  quantify,  or  100  lbs.  of  the  same  leaf,  to 
yield  one  pound  of  silk. 

After  these  preliminary  observations  it  is  now  re- 
quisite that  we  turn  our  attention  to  our  young  family, 
which  by  this  time  will  have  important  claims  on  our 
services.  Prior  to  our  entrance  into  the  cocoonery  of 
a  large  scale,  or  one  of  five  ounces,  the  count  gi"wes 
an  example  of  a  smaller  establishment,  or  the  labora- 
tory of  a  single  ounce.  Of  this,  since  in  certain  cases, 
it  may  have  its  use,  we  shall  here  give  the  outline. 

The  silk  wovms  proceedi}ig  from  one  ounce  of  eggs 
consume 

Ix  THE  FIRST  AGE  ;  6  Ibs.  of  ichitc  m.ulberry 
leaves  well  sorted,  and  chopped  very  small ;  to  which 
5  lbs.  of  the  leaves  of  the  moras  multicaulis  will 
be  equal. 

Ix  THE  SECOND  AGE;  of  the  ivhitc  mulberry  leaf, 
they  consume  IS  lbs.  ;  sorted,  clean,  and  chopped 
rather  more  coarsely  than  in  the  first  age  ;  of  the 
multicaulis  leaf,  about  15  lbs. 

In  the  THIRD  age;  of  the   white   mulberry  leafy 


292  THE    SILK    WORM. 

ihey  consume  GO  lbs.  well  sorted  and  less  chopped; 
of  the  niulticardis  50  lbs. 

In  the  rouuTH  age;  of  the  white  mulberry  leaf, 
180  lbs.  well  sorted  and  still  less  chopped  than  that 
of  the  third  age  :  of  the  ntulticaulis  144  lbs. 

In  the  fifth  age;  of  the  white  mulberry  leaf 
1100  lbs. ;  of  the  multicaiiUs  880  lbs. 

The  above,  of  course,  is  given  as  a  general  rule, 
or  one  on  the  supposition  of  ordinary  circumstances 
and  care.  We  are  informed  that  even  a  variation  in 
the  season  will  have  an  influence  on  the  requisite 
quantity  of  leaves.  If  the  leaf  be  injured  by  the 
season,  and  the  proportion  of  nutritive  matter  it  con- 
tains lessened,  a  greater  quantity  to  produce  the  same 
effect  will  be  necessary  ;  and  vice  versa,  if  the  nutri- 
tive proportion  of  the  leaf  be  increased,  a  quantity 
less  than  the  medium  prescribed  will  realize  the 
hopes  of  the  culturist. 

The  above  will  serve  as  an  outline  of  manipulation 
on  a  small  scale.  In  following  out  the  detail,  how- 
ever, for  the  sake  of  variety,  we  will  repair  to  the 
large  laboratory,  or  establishment  for  ivorms  pro- 
ceeding from  five  ounees  of  eggs. 

For  small  quantities,  of  course,  as  already  observed, 
spare  buildings  or  apartments,  may  often  serve;  but 
we  must  now  suppose  the  previous  building  of  a  re- 
gular cocoonery,  of  which  we  have  already  given  an 
example.  It  is  proper  that  at  the  commencement,  the 
shelves  should  be  numbered,  1,  2,  .3,  4,  &c.  through- 
out. The  quantity  of  eggs  to  be  hatched  ought  not 
to  be  more  than  will  leave  room,  within  the  cocoonery, 
and  according  to  the  number  of  shelves  that  we  can 
conveniently  furnish  therein,  sutiicient  for  the  full  de- 
velopment of  the  worm,  or  for  their  accommodation 
at  their  utmost  growth. 

The  eggs  should  have  been  divided  by  weight  into 
ounces  or  half  oimces,  and  each  parcel  kept  apart. 
It  would  be  better,  supposing  the  lumiber  of  shelves 
to  be  30,  35, 40  or  upwards,  to  divide  into  half  ounces, 
and  so  to  apportion  thorn,  as  to  leave  a  number  of 


THE    SILK    WORM.  293 

spare  shelves;  and  if  the  eggs  be  good,  and  the  pro- 
duce more  than  an  average,  to  distribute  them  into 
more  space  than  they  would  ordinarily  occupy.  But 
the  distribution  on  the  shelves  according  to  the  order 
or  date  of  their  hatching,  and  according  to  distinctive 
numbers  on  the  shelves  and  as  duly  recorded  in  a 
diary,  which  will  be  kept  by  every  accnrate  culturist, 
should  be  observed  throughout. 

We  have  already  remarked  that  several  recent 
authors  have  estimated  from  .-35,000  to  40^000  or  even 
upwards  to  the  ounce  ;  and  Ave  have  seen  that  Count 
Dandolo  quotes  the  definite  number  of  39,168  eggs  of 
the  common  silk  worm  of  four  moultiiigs  to  tlie  Milan 
ounce;  of  which,  it  is  evident,  that  the  whole  of  his 
prescriptive  measures  are  proportioned  to  the  suppo- 
sition, that  with  the  standard  treatment,  he  sanctions 
28,800  worms  will  survive  to  the  cocoon,  which  we 
have  already  determined  to  be  equivalent  to  36,244 
eggs  and  to  26,650  sio'viuhig  worms  to  the  English 
ounce  avoirdupois.  In  the  application  of  space,  this 
latter  number  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  necessary  element 
in  our  calculation ;  but  as  it  is  quoted  as  a  inedhnn, 
and  a  contingent  deviation,  if  any,  might  be  in  our 
favour  rather  than  to  the  contrary,  it  will  be  acknow- 
ledged that  of  too  much  or  too  little  space,  an  appro- 
priation of  the  former,  will  be  the  less  evil  of  the 
two. 

With  this  allotment  then  of  space,  which  in  all 
cases  should  be  such,  that  there  be  no  necessity  for 
the  worms  touching  one  another,  we  may  suppose 
that  the  worms  are  now  properly  distributed  on  the 
shelves,  and  each  in  the  enjoyment  of  as  much  or 
more  space  around,  as  its  exclusive  province  ,or  prin- 
cipality, as  existed  in  the  sweep  of  the  eye  of  Thomp- 
son's insect  on  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's  cathedral.  All 
things  then  are  ready,  and  we  expect  that  the  super- 
intendent is  more  than  ready,  and  has  counted,  long 
since,  the  heads  of  his  future  manipulations,  on  the 
tips  of  his  fingers,  as  accurately  as  the  Roman  orator. 

We  see  him  then  at  work.  The  panorama  of  the 
25* 


294  THE    SILK    WORBI. 

cocoonery,  the  tout  ensemble  is  before  us.  We  see 
that  zeal,  the  sphit  of  his  office,  actuates  the  man; 
which  whilst  it  is  the  logic  that  suits  his  own  pocket, 
benefits  the  nation.  Patriotism,  or  even  a  nondescript 
philanthropy,  not  provided  for  by  Linnaeus,  often 
eifects  the  most,  when  it  begins  with  a  little  thing,  an 
insect  for  example ;  and  here  even  seliishness,  how 
ever  paradoxical,  must  benefit  another  !  This  zeal, 
we  perceive,  has  dictated  to  this  superintendent  the 
propriety  of  a  book  of  record,  a  diary,  a  book  of  me- 
moranda, or  a  faithful  register  of  every  event,  each 
according  to  its  respective  date,  of  every  thing  that 
can  concern  the  hatch,  or  hatches,  if  he  liave  more 
than  one,  the  moultings,  the  ages  or  quantity  of  leaves 
administered  during  each,  the  temperature,  in  short, 
every  occurrence,  especially  of  a  statistical  character, 
that  can  be  comprised  within  tiie  whole  history  be- 
tween the  egg  and  the  reel. 

Leaves  are  now  to  be  thinl}^  scattered  over  the 
shelves.  It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  that  the  hur- 
dles should  be  used  till  the  third  age.  The  young 
larvcB  will  run  about,  and  leave  the  shelves,  if  food 
be  not  given  them  immediately  after  their  exodus 
from  the  shell.  They  will  never  leave  the  feeding 
shelves  till  they  rise  to  spin,  provided  that  they  be 
duly  supplied  with  food,  proper  in  quality,  sulficient 
in  quantity,  and  at  the  time  they  require  it.  The  fol- 
lowing cut  represents  the  worms  just  emerged  from 
the  shell,  during  the  first  age. 
Fis;.  5. 


REARING    OP    TIIE    WORMS. 

First  age  :  First  day.  To  the  worms  proceeding 
from  five  ounces  of  eggs,  on  the  first  day  of  their 
existence  in  the  larva  state,  are  to  be  given,  in  proper 
proportions,  at  successive  meals,  two  hours  apart,  of 
the  luhite  mulherry  leaf,  about  33  lbs.,  chopped  very 
small ;  giving  the  smallest  quantity  for  the  first  feed- 


THE  SILK  woRar.  295 

ing,  and  gradually  increasing  the  quantity  at  each 
successive  meal ;  of  the  multicauUs  leaf,  the  quantity 
may  be  3  lbs. 

The  benefit  of  giving  the  leaf,  at  this  early  stage  of 
the  worm,  in  a  state  of  minute  division,  by  chopping, 
is  evident.  The  more  the  leaf  is  chopped,  the  more 
fresh  cut  edges  exist,  on  which  the  little  mandibles 
of  the  infant  operatives  can  listen.  In  this  state, 
they  bite  the  leaf  quickly,  and  consume  it  before  it  is 
withered. 

If  care  be  not  taken  thus  to  chop  the  leaf  small, 
and  to  give  the  young  worms  sufTi'cient  space  at  first, 
and  more  as  they  need  it,  a  greater  number  will  be 
liable  to  perish,  by  disease,  or  from  difficulties  they 
want  strength  to  encounter  at  an  age  so  early.  The 
worm  that  cannot  eat,  dwindles,  becomes  extenuated, 
weak,  and  tmsupported,  and,  consequently,  perishes 
under  the  leaf. 

Count  Dandolo  fed  his  worms  regularly  four  times 
every  day.  From  this  medium,  in  practice,  there  are 
at  least  two  variations.  Some  give  the  whole  quan- 
tity for  the  day  at  once  !  This  mode  is  liable  to  seve- 
ral objections  ;  others  divide  Dandolo's  four  meals 
into  from  eight  to  twelve,  which,  we  think,  gives  an 
indication  that  the  party  is  determined  to  realize  good 
cocoons.  The  worms,  too,  should  be  fed  not  only  by 
day,  but  by  night.  Whatever  number  of  meals  are 
given  during  the  twenty-four  hours,  it  will  be  easy  to 
give  the  whole  quantity  of  leaves  prescribed  for  the 
day,  in  corresponding  proportions. 

Second  day.  On  this  day,  of  the  ivhite  mulberry 
leaf,  give,  at  four  regular  meals,  about  6  lbs.  chopped 
very  small.  Let  the  first  meal  be  the  least,  and  in- 
crease gradually  to  the  last :  of  the  multicauUs,  give 
about  5  lbs. 

There  will  now  appear  some  evident  change  in  the 
appearance  of  the  worm.  It  begins  to  lose  its  dingy 
and  bristled  aspect,  and  the  head  perceptibly  enlarges 
and  whitens. 

Third  day.     Give  at  four  meals  this  day,  of  soft 


296  THE    SILK    WORM. 

white  mulherry  leaves,  chopped  very  small,  about 
12  lbs,:  of  the  miiUicaiiHs,  about  10  lbs.  The  worms 
are  now  feeding  with  avidity.  The  head  of  the  worm 
continues  to  become  whiter,  the  insect  to  grow  larger, 
the  former  bristly  appearance  to  vanish,  and  the  skin 
is  assuming  a  sort  of  hazel  colour.  When  viewed 
through  a  convex  lens,  their  surface  looks  shining, 
and  their  head,  a  silvejy  white,  somewhat  like  mother 
of  pearl,  and  transparent. 

Fourth  day.  As  the  worm  approaches  the 
moulting,  a  diminution  of  appetite  occurs.  Of  the 
tvhite  mulberry,  give  about  6  lbs.  12  oz. ;  let  the  first 
meal  be  about  2  lbs.  4  oz.,  and  the  rest  gradually  de- 
crease to  the  last.  Of  the  7nuliicauUs,  give  about 
5h.  lbs.  And  let  it  be  remembered,  that  in  this  first 
age,  it  is  of  importance  to  give  the  insects  plenty  of 
room,  by  gently  separating  and  spreading  them,  to 
avoid  as  much  as  possible  their  sleepnig,  on  the  verge 
of  m.oulting,  in  heaps. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  day,  the  first  appearances 
of  the  approaching  change  are  indicated.  The 
worms  begin  to  shake  their  headSj  and  thus  express 
uneasiness  at  the  increasing  tension  of  their  skin. 
Some  are  now  eating  very  little ;  keep  their  head  in 
an  elevated  position  ;  their  body  appears  transparent; 
those  nearer  the  mouUing  time,  when  seen  against 
the  light,  are  of  a  yellow,  livid  tinge;  but  the  greater 
number,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  appear  torpid,  and 
cease  to  eat. 

Fifth  day.  Of  the  young  leaves  of  the  u^hite  mul- 
berry, \h  lbs.  only,  chopped  small  will  be  suificient. 
These  chopped  leaves  scattered  lightly  on  those  parts 
of  the  shelves,  where  worms  appear  to  be  still  feed- 
ing. Of  course,  where  variations  from  the  general 
state  be  perceived,  and  some  are  still  willing  to  eat, 
more  leaves  may  be  given.  The  discretion  of  the 
careful  superintendent,  here  and  in  all  similar  cases 
must  be  exercised. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  day,  however,  in  the  gene- 
ral case,  the  worms  are  torpid,  and  a  few  begin  even 


THE    SILK    WORM.  297 

to  revive.  After  the  first  moulting  the  silk  worm  is 
of  a  dark  ash  colour,  showing  distinctly  a  peculiar 
vermicular  motion,  and  the  rings  that  mechanically 
assist  that  motion  contract  and  dilate  their  intervening 
distance  more  freely  than  before. 

When  the  weather  admits  of  it,  the  leaves  should 
be  gathered  several  hours  before  the  meal  is  given ; 
they  last  very  well  a  day,  and  more  if  kept  in  a  damp 
cool  place. 

General  remarks  on  the  first  age. — The  first 
age  of  this  industrious  animal,  at  the  temperature  here 
assigned  as  a  medium,  is  almost  always  one  of  five 
days.  In  this  age  the  silk  worms  proceeding  from 
five  ounces  of  eggs  have,  of  the  white  mulherry 
consumed  about  30  lbs.  sorted,  picked  and  chopped 
leaves.  If  the  refuse  of  the  leaves  picked  ofi"  and 
rejected  be  estimated,  its  proportion  will  be  about 
42  lbs.  making  the  quantity  taken  from  the  trees  to 
be  in  all  34A  lbs.,  or  about  7  lbs,  of  leaves  to  each 
ounce  of  worms.  In  this  age,  the  air  of  the  cocoon- 
ery should  be  renewed  only  by  opening  the  doors. 

Second  age. — About  73  ft.  4  in.  square  of  shelf 
space  will  be,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  growing 
family  proceeding  from  5  ounces  necessary  until  the 
accomplishment  of  the  second  moulting,  or  comple- 
tion of  this  second  age.  These,  as  before  observed, 
should  always  be  covered  with  strong  paper,  or  pro- 
per pasteboard.  The  temperature  during  this  age,  as 
recommended  by  Dandolo,  ^^ should  Z>e,"  says  he,  be- 
tween 73°  and  75°.  Prescribing  as  to  temperature 
in  a  hot  country  in  juxtaposition  with  June  or  July, 
appears  of  course,  a  little  arbitrary ;  a  subject,  for 
want  of  room  here,  we  shall  further  consider  in  the 
subjoined  note.*     The  insects  should  not  be  raised 

*  We  must  remember  that  Count  Dandolo  wTote  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Italy,  between  the  elevated  regions  of  the  Alps  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  Apennines  on  the  other;  by  the  fanning  breezes  of  whose  snow 
capt  tops,  and  his  ventilators,  what  cooling  zephyrs  Dandolo  could 
command,  we  poor  panting  lijards  in  an  American  July  know  little.  It 
has  been  very  properly  asked,  how  are  we  to  command  the  temperature 


298  THE    SILK    WORM. 

from  their  litter  until  they  are  nearly  all  revived. 
There  will  ensue  no  detriment  if  we  wait  till  nearly 
all  discover  a  disposition  to  move,  even  should  it 
be  for  twenty  or  thirty  hours  from  the  time  when 
they  first  began  to  revive.*     Important  changes  are 

to  walk  down  to  73°  or  75°,  wljen  even  in  the  shade  without,  the 
thermometer  is  raging  from  90°  to  100°.  At  this  time  little  current 
exists  in  the  external  air,  and  consequently  all  common  ventilators  are 
then  of  little  promise.  This  reminds  us  of  an  admirable  convenience 
in  common  use,  particularly  amongst  the  affluent  voluptuaries  in  Bengal 
and  India,  but  as  yet  too  little  known  in  this  country.  Since  there,  even 
in  the  latter  part  of  January,  the  thermometer  sometimes  rises  to  90°, 
we  may  easily  conceive  what  the  tropical  temperature  of  India  fre- 
quently is  in  the  months  of  June,  July,  and  August,  especially  to  those, 
whose  means  allow  them  not  the  luxury  of  spending  their  days  under 
the  p'lnJtha. 

The  punkhfi  is  a  large  frame,  or  in  longer  rooms,  frames  of  wood, 
each  covered  with  painted  canvass,  and  so  caused  to  be  su'^pended  by 
ropes,  or  to  swing  on  hinges,  that  when  the  one  is  moved,  they  all  oscil- 
late with  the  same  (jsndulous  vibration,  and  according  to  their  extent  of 
surface,  command,  a  less  or  greater  current  of  air  in  the  room.  It  is 
generally  hung  over  the  dining  table,  and  is  there  intended  to  answer 
the  end  of  a  fan.  In  India,  a  servant  stands  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
and  holds  the  rope,  fastened  to  the  middle  of  it,  and  keeps  drawing  the 
punkha  to  him,  and  then  letting  it  go  again.  In  this  manner,  the  air 
being  agitated,  the  region  under  the  punkha  becomes  comparatively  cool. 
In  hot  weather,  some  Europeans  sit  under  the  punkha  from  morning  to 
night,  and  put  their  couch  under  it,  in  the  day,  when  they  take  a  nap. 
We  understand,  also,  from  respectable  authority,  that  the  flies,  mus- 
quitoes  and  gnats,  that  prowl  in  the  air,  and  take  the  liberty,  without 
asking  leave,  of  going  a  pilgrimage  across  the  Indian  aristocrat's  nose, 
when  he  is  enjoying  his  afternoon  sieste,  are  particularly  op|)osed  to 
this  iimovation  of  their  privileges.  Several  of  these  punkhas  are  kept 
going  in  the  mission  church  at  Calcutta  during  divine  service.  A  valu- 
able hint  for  American  churches,  in  June  and  July.  An  evident  im- 
provement would  be,  instead  of  using  a  servant,  to  let  the  whole  move 
l)y  a  pendulum.  When  a  current  is  suinciently  produced  in  the  co- 
coonery, stop  the  pendulum,  or  set  it  agoing  when  wanted,  ad  lihi'um. 
(If  we  can  persuade  our  friend,  who  talks  of  manufacturing  an  im- 
proved pattern  of  the  punkha,  he  will  send  it  to  the  cocoonery  office,  or 
establishment  of  the  Morodendron  Silk  Company,  for  inspection.  It  is 
time  that  we  Americans,  in  our  houses,  our  courts,  our  churches,  our 
cocooneries,  in  June,  July  and  August,  should  know  the  value  and  use 
of  the  Indian  punkha.) 

*  During  the  first  age  too  many  cultivators  destroy  the  health  and  life 
of  a  number  of  worms  for  want  of  sufficient  attention  ;  ansl  consequently 
beyond  that  age,  they  have  worms  of  unequal  growth  and  advancement, 
an  inconvenience  never  after  remedied.      This  inequality  and  the  evils 


THE    SILK    WORM.  299 

efFectod  by  the  first  moulting.  The  organs  assume 
greater  consistency.  The  scaly  muzzle  which  they 
lose  by  moulting  is  replaced  by  another  which  the 
air  indurates ;  and  till  the  small  jaws  or  mandibles 
have  acquired  sufficient  hardness,  they  cannot,  in 
certain  cases,  with  an  expedition  equal  to  what  their 
seasonable  advance  to  maturity  requires,  divide  the 
leaves.  With  the  aid  of  a  convex  lens,  we  immedi- 
ately perceive  the  etibrts,  to  the  expense  of  which, 
an  unassisted  worm  of  this  age,  is  liable,  in  gnawing 
the  leaf. 

Sixth  day.  Of  the  ivhite  mulberry  give  now 
9  lbs.  of  young  tender  shoots,  and  9  lbs.  of  leaves, 
well  picked  and  chopped  small.*  Of  the  multicaulis 
this  is  equal  to  15  lbs. 

Experience  has  proved  that  the  silk  worms  like  the 
tender  boughs  so  much,  that  they  remain  crowded  on 
them  even  when  the  leaves  are  consumed,  and  evince 
a  reluctance  to  return  to  the  litter  below.  This  re- 
mark will  doubtless  atFord  a  hint  to  the  provident  cul- 
turist  in  affording  the  requisite  accommodations  for  the 
health  and  comfort  of  animals  that  repay  in  propor- 
tion to  the  care  expended  on  them.  When  the  worms 

resulting  from  it,  are  caused,  1st,  By  not  having  placed  the  silk  worms 
in  space  proportional  to  their  growth  in  the  course  of  their  first  age, 
which  has  allowed  of  some  feeding  well,  whilst  others  could  not  feed,  of 
some  remaining  under  the  litter,  others  on  it,  the  latter  having  the  bene- 
fit of  free  air,  the  former  not.  In  moulting,  if  those  that  moult  sooner 
tha[)  others,  and  are  under  the  leaf,  this  important  change  is  retarded. 
2dly,  By  not  having  placed  the  sheets  of  silk  worms  hatched  on  the  first 
day  in  the  coolest  parts  of  the  laboratory.  3dly,  By  not  having  placed 
the  latest  hatched  worms  in  the  hottest  parts  of  the  laboratory.  4th,  And 
lastly,  by  not  having  given  the  last  hatched  worms  intermediate  meals, 
to  bring  on  their  growth  a  little  faster. 

*  In  recommending  that  the  leaves  be  chopped  small,  we  are  rather 
inclined  to  follow  experienced  culturists  in  Europe  and  America  than 
our  own  judgment  and  experience  in  the  matter.  We  think,  excepting 
perhaps  in  the  first  age,  that  nature  has  furnished  the  silk  worm  with 
means  to  devour  food,  if  they  can  get  it,  whether  chopped  or  not.  Their 
own  choppers  are  machines  which  never  foil  them.  But  in  some  cases 
nature  may  be  improved  upon,  more  especially  if  art  and  nature  are 
combined. 


300  THE    SILK    W0R1\I. 

have  been  removed  to  clean  hurdles,  those  they  have 
left  should  be  thoroughly  cleansed. 

From  the  first  day  of  the  rearing  of  silk  worms,  un- 
til the  first  moulting,  these  insects  have  consumed 
30  lbs,  of  leaves;  22  lbs.  8  oz.  have  contributed  to 
their  growth,  or  have  evaporated  in  the  first  age. 
The  worms  void  a  small  portion  of  focces  resembling 
fine  black  powder,  of  the  7  lbs.  8  oz.  of  remaining  sub- 
stance there  are  only  about  10  oz.  of  excremental 
matter. 

Seventh  day.  Of  the  white  mulberry  give  30  lbs. 
of  chopped  leaves;  divided  into  four  portions  to  be 
given  at  intervals  of  six  hours;  but  an  improvement 
would  be  to  divide  into  ten  or  twelve  portions,  given 
at  intervals  of  two  to  three  hours  each.  The  first 
meals  less  plentiful  than  those  which  follow.  Of  the 
multicauUs,  this  quantity  is  equivalent  to  24  lbs. 

The  body  of  the  worm  now  acquires  a  clear  hue ; 
the  head  enlarges  and  becomes  whiter.  Continue  to 
pay  an  unremitting  attention  to  the  equal  distribution, 
as  to  space,  of  the  worms.  Place  boughs  wher- 
ever they  appear  to  be  too  thick,  on  which  they  will 
immediately  fasten,  and  may  thus  be  removed  or  dis- 
tributed to  fill  up  places  not  sufficiently  covered. 

Eighth  day.  Give  now,  of  the  ivhite  mulherry 
33  lbs.  of  chopped  and  well  picked  leaves  ;  and  at  this 
time  let  the  two  or  three  first  meals  be  the  largest. 
Of  the  multicauUs  leaves,  give  27  lbs.  These  leaves, 
distribute  at  each  meal  with  attention,  and  as  far  as 
possible  proportionate  to  the  degree  of  avidity  disco- 
verable by  the  worm ;  since  it  becomes  again  the 
period  when  the  voracity  of  the  worm,  consequent 
on  the  approach  of  the  second  moulting,  begins  to 
abate,  which  they  soon  indicate  by  tbe  usual  prognos- 
tics of  rearing  their  heads  and  declining  to  eat. 

Ninth  day.  Of  the  ivhite  mulherry,  9  lbs.  only 
of  picked  leaves  and  chopped  small,  will  be  re- 
quired, distributed  in  the  same  manner  as  before. 
Scatter  the  proportions  lightly,  and  with  discriminat- 


THE    SILK    WORM.  301 

ing  care  over  the  worms.    Of  the  multicaulis,  about 
7  lbs.  will  be  sufficient. 

On  this  day  our  metempsychosin  insect,  which 
seems  almost  to  have  been  the  primitive  instructer  of 
the  Samian  philosopher,  is  again  discovering  its  pe- 
riodic restlessness  for  change.  It  is  sinking  into  a 
torpor.  The  next  day  its  old  wardrobe  is  disposed 
of,  and  it  becomes  as  eager  or  more  of  its  third  life,  as 
it  Avas  of  the  first. 

Fis.  6. 


General  remarks  on  the  conclusiox  of  the 
SECOND  AGE.  In  the  four  days  of  this  age  our  young 
colony  has  consumed  about  90  lbs.  of  picked  leaves 
of  the  white  mulberry.  If  to  this  we  add  a  refuse  of 
15  lbs.  rejected  from  the  picked  leaves,  105  lbs.  have 
been  drawn  from  the  trees,  that  is,  at  the  rate  of 
21  lbs.  for  every  ounce  of  silk  worms.  To  these  three 
proportions,  72  lbs.,  84  lbs.,  and  17  lbs.  of  the  multi- 
caulis respectively  correspond. 

Their  colour  now  is  become  of  a  light  grey,  the 
hair  has  become  so  much  shorter  as  to  be  hardly  per- 
ceptible to  the  eye.  The  muzzle,  which  in  the  first 
age  was  very  black,  hard  and  scaly,  became  im- 
mediately on  moulting  white  and  soft,  now  becomes 
again  black,  shining  and  shelly  as  before,  and  as  the 
insect  becomes  older,  at  each  moulting,  its  muzzle 
hardens,  because  it  needs  to  saw  and  bite  larger  and 
older  leaves. 

Third  age. —  Tenth  day.  Give  of  ivhite  mulberry 
1 5  lbs.  of  small  shoots  and  1 5  lbs.  of  the  picked  leaves, 
chopped  small.  At  the  close  of  the  age,  they  may  be 
more  coarsely  chopped.  To  this  quantity,  24  lbs.  of 
the  multicaulis  are  equivalent. 

The  worms  that  have  accomplished  this  age  should 
not  be  removed  from  the  shelves  until  they  are  nearly 
roused.  Part  will  rouse  on  the  ninth  and  part  on  the 
tenth  day.    No  injurious  consequence  will  ensue,  if  the 

26 


302  THE    SILK    WORM. 

part  that  has  revived  should  wait  12  or  15  hours  till 
the  rest  are  ready.  A  uever  failing  sign  that  they  are 
roused  is  the  undulatory  motion  they  display  with 
their  head,  when  horizontally  blown  over. 

It  will  ever  be  incumbent  on  the  superintendent,  or 
person  who  has  a  leading  interest  in  the  concern,  fre- 
quently to  inspect  the  operations  of  the  feeders,  to  see 
that  the  food  is  at  all  times  equally  distributed,  ac- 
cording to  the  varying  wants  on  ditferent  portions  of 
the  shelves.  Redundant  leaves,  though  a  loss,  is  still 
an  inconvenience  less  than  the  accumulation  of  an  un- 
necessary portion  of  litter,  which  may  ferment  and 
produce  noxious  evaporation  and  disease. 

Eleventh  day.  Of  the  white  mulberry,  give  at  sepa- 
rate meals  90  lbs.  of  picked  and  chopped  leaves ;  of 
the  raulticaulis  72  lbs.  The  first  meals  should  be  the 
least ;  the  reason  of  this,  the  worms  themselves  will 
explain,  since  it  is  in  the  latter  part  of  the  day,  that 
they  now  become  voraciously  hungry. 

Twelfth  day.  Of  the  white  mulberry,  97  lbs.  of  pick- 
ed leaves  will  be  wanted,  chopped  and  divided  into 
the  usual  number  of  meals ;  the  first  being  most 
plentiful.  Towards  evening,  the  hunger  begins  to 
abate,  the  last  meal  therefore  on  this  day  should  be 
the  least.  To  this  quantity,  of  the  multicaulis,lS  lbs. 
will  be  equivalent. 

The  worms  now  grow  fast ;  their  skins  become 
whiter,  their  bodies  semitransparent,  and  their  heads 
longer,  and  the  contortions  they  make  show  that  their 
change  approaches. 

Thirteenth  day.  52h  lbs.  of  chopped  white  mul- 
berry leaves  will  now  be  sufficient.  42  lbs.  of  the  mul- 
ticanlis.  Give  in  the  usual  number  of  meals,  the 
largest  first,  the  last  meal  the  least,  feeding  those  only 
that  require  it.  Should  a  greater  number  of  silk 
worms  on  one  table  be  torpid,  whilst  others  continue 
to  require  food,  give  only  a  slight  meal  without  wait- 
ing for  the  stated  hour  of  feeding,  in  order  to  satisfy 
them,  that  they  may  sink  into  torpor  speedily.  Care 
of  this  kind  is  important,  and  intermediate  meals  OC' 


THE    SILK    WORM.  303 

casionally  given,  and  by  discretion  administered,  is 
beneficial. 

Fourteenth  day.  Of  the  white  tnulherry,  27  lbs. 
of  picked  and  chopped  leaves  will  be  sufficient,  in  or- 
dinary cases,  more  or  less, as  occasion  requires.  To  this 
medium  supply,  of  multiccndis  leaves  22  lbs.  will  be 
equivalent.  Indications  of  silk  now  begin  to  appear 
from  the  occasional  depositions  of  the  insect. 

The  worm  now  manifests  inclination  for  solitude 
and  free  space  to  slumber  in.  It  either  climbs  the 
edge  of  paper,  the  elevated  stalks  or  leaves,  or  in 
failure  of  that,  on  the  litter ;  it  rears  its  head  and  ex- 
presses its  uneasiness.  Immediately  on  the  verge  of 
change,  they  void  all  gross  excrementitious  matter ;  a 
yellow  and  semitransparent  lymph  only  occupies  the 
intestinal  tube,  and  constitutes  nearly  the  only  fluid 
remaining  in  the  animal.  This  also  is  that  which 
prior  to  their  change  gives  them  a  yellowish  white 
colour  like  amber.  Whilst  the  worms  thus  prepare  for 
the  moulting,  sufficiently  clear,by  moderate  ventilation, 
the  air  of  the  cocoonery. 

Fifteenth  day.  On  this  day,  the  rousing  of  the  silk 
worms,  which  they  begin  to  manifest,  is  an  indication 
of  the  completion  of  the  third  age. 

Fig.  7. 


General  remarks  ox  the  third  age.  In  six 
days,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  worm  passes 
through  its  third  age,  in  which  those  proceeding  from 
5  ounces  of  eggs,  on  the  same  condition,  have  con- 
sumed 300  lbs.  of  leaves  and  young  shoots.  If  to 
this  be  added  45  lbs.  of  refuse  rejected  by  picking, 
345  lbs.  have  been  taken  from  the  trees :  i.  e.  at  the 
rate  of  69  lbs.  to  the  ounce. 

The  muzzle  of  the  silk  worm,  during  the  third  age, 
has  maintained  a  reddish  ash  colour ;  it  is  no  longer 


304  THE    SILK    WORM. 

shining  and  black,  as  it  appeared  in  the  first  ages,  but 
now  becomes  more  lengthened  and  prominent.  The 
head  and  body  also  are  much  enlarged  since  the  cast- 
ing even  of  the  skin,  or  before  they  have  eaten  at  all ; 
a  proof  that  they  were  straitened  in  the  skin  they 
have  cast,  and  being  now  unconfined,  the  natural  speci- 
fic density  or  rarefaction  of  their  substance,  has  expand- 
ed them  at  the  ordinary  rate  of  atmospheric  pressure. 

At  the  completion  of  this  age,  the  body  of  the  silk 
worm  is  more  wrinkled,  they  become  of  a  yellowish 
white  or  fawn  colour,  and,  without  a  glass,  no  hairi- 
ness is  visible.  In  this  third  age,  we  first  hear  a  pe- 
culiar hissing  noise,  when  the  worms  are  feeding, 
similar  to  that  produced  by  the  burning  of  green 
wood.  This  noise  does  not,  however,  proceed  from 
the  action  of  the  jaws,  but  from  the  continual  motion 
of  the  feet,  sounding  not  unlike  a  soft  shower  of  rain, 
until  the  worms  fasten  on  their  wood,  when  this  co- 
coonery music  ceases. 

Fourth  age.  The  worms,  with  proper  care,  sur- 
viving now  from  five  ounces,  should  have  a  space 
equal  to  412  square  feet,  and  should  be  equally  dis- 
tributed as  already  prescribed,  and  the  temperature 
should  be  not  less  than  68°,  nor  higher,  if  possible,  ac- 
cording to  Dandolo,  than  71°,  but  whenever  it  rises, 
as,  at  this  season,  it  inevitably  may,  higher,  compen- 
sating means  must  be  sought  by  the  instant  removal 
of  all  litter  liable  to  fermentation,  and  promoting,  by 
ventilators  and  other  means,  a  due  circulation  of  air 
in  the  cocoonery.  We  must  again  insist  on  the  im- 
propriety of  lifting  ofi'  the  hurdles  those  silk  worms 
that  have  completed  their  third  age  until  nearly  all 
are  roused.  The  one  part  waiting  a  day,  or  even  a 
day  and  a  half  for  the  other,  is,  as  said  belbre,  not  in- 
jurious. It  is,  however,  advisable  to  place  the  early 
roused  in  the  coolest  part  of  the  laboratory,  and  the 
late  roused  worms  in  the  warmest*  part ;  and  if  this 

*  Be  it  remembered  that  moderate  increase  of  heat  sharpens  the  silk 
worm's  appetite,  and  consequently  accelerates  its  tjrowth,  and  vice  versa, 
that  ap[>etites,  a.s  well  as  growth,  may  be  thus  artiiicially  retarded. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  305 

be  inconvenient  or  impracticable,  to  give  to  the  former 
less,  and  to  the  latter  more  space ;  and  by  one  or 
the  other,  or  by  both  these  means,  their  advance 
towards  the  maturity  of  their  fourth  age,  will  be  so 
preserved  that  they  will,  which  is  important,  moult 
together.* 

Sixteenth  day.  On  this  day  give  STi  lbs.  of  the 
3''onng  shoots,  and  60  lbs.  of  picked  leaves  of  the  ivhitc 
■ninlherrij  coarsely  chopped  with  a  large  blade.  To  this 
quantity  7S  lbs.  of  the  multicaulis  will  be  equal. 

When  the  moment  of  removing  the  worms  from 
the  hurdles  arrives,  one  or  two  hurdles  onh?"  at  a  time 
should  be  covered  with  young  shoots.  These  shoots, 
loaded  with  worms,  are  afterwards  put  on  the  empty 
shelves,  and  removed,  as  in  the  first  moultings. 
Should  there  not  be  a  sufficiency  of  small  boughs, 
branches  of  15  or  .20  leaves  (wliite  mul.)  tied  to- 
gether by  the  stalks,  will  answer  the  purpose.  The 
removal  should  be  effected  by  three  persons:  one  to 
fill  the  shelves,  one  to  carry  them,  and  another  gently 
to  remove  them  from  these  shelves  on  the  luirdles,  in 
the  space  allotted  to  them. 

When  those  which  have  revived  are  removed, 
others  yet  remain  torpid  on  the  174  feet  square  of 
hurdles,  or  that  have  not  yet  strength  to  climb  on  the 
shoots  or  branches  of  leaves.  But  it  will  be  disco- 
vered that  the  early  roused  have  probably  by  this 
time  eaten  all  the  leaves  on  the  young  shoots  or 
branches  that  served  to  carry  them,  and  that  they  re- 
main without  food  on  the  shelf  They  should  then 
be  supplied  with  30  lbs.  of  white  mulberry  leaves, 
chopped  a  little,  or  with  24  lbs.  of  those  of  the  mul- 
ticaulis.  The  other  30  lbs.  of  leaves  should  not  be 
given  until  the  second  meal  has  been  thoroughly  con- 
sumed. At  the  end  of  this  day,  the  worms  begin  to 
evince  renewed  vigour:  they  move  more  nimbly, 
they  grow  perceptibly,  they  lose  their  ugly  colour, 

*  It  will  be  advantageous  to  have  marked  on  each  shelf,  its  dimen- 
sions in  square  feet :  or  the  product  of  its  length  multiplied  by  ita 
breadth. 

26* 


306  THE    SILK    WORM. 

become  slightly  white,  aiid  assume  more  animal 
vivacity.* 

Seventeenth  day.  1 65  lbs.  of  the  white  mulberry  leaf, 
slightly  cut  up,  will  now  be  wanted.  The  first  meals 
should  be  the  lightest,  the  last,  most  copious.  132  lbs. 
of  the  multicunlis.  The  worms  now  grow  fast,  and 
their  skin  continues  to  whiten. 

Eighteenth  day.  225  lbs.  of  the  sorted  leaves  of 
the  lohite  rmilber^ry,  a  little  cut;  or  180  lbs.  of  the 
leaves  of  the  multicaiilis  are,  at  this  time,  the  proper 
proportions.  The  former  meals  of  the  day  to  be  the 
most  plentiful. 

Nineteenth  day.  Of  the  lohite  mulberry,  the  cut 
leaves  to  be  distributed  at  successive  meals,  should 
amount  to  255  lbs.,  the  first  meals  of  the  day  still 
being  the  larger,  in  the  proportion  of  about  5  to  3, 
To  this  quantity,  204  lbs.  of  multicaulis  leaves  are 
equal.  The  worms  contiiuie  to  become  whiter,  and 
in  size,  increase  to  Ih  inches  long. 

Twentieth  day.  Reduce  to  128  lbs.  of  the  picked 
leaves  of  the  ivhite  Tiiidberry,  since  on  this  day,  the 
appetite  of  the  larvoe  diminishes  ;  or  of  the  multi- 
caulis leaves,  give  103  lbs.  Let  the  first  meal  be  the 
largest,  and  gradually  lessen  till  the  last.  Several 
are  beginning  to  become  torpid,  therefore,  with  dis- 
crimination, give  leaves,  to  prevent  both  waste/  and 
avoidable  fermentation,  only,  as  they  are  wanted. 
The  worms  are  now  13  inches  long. 

Twenty-first  day.  Of  the  picked  leaves  of  the 
white  mulberry,  35  lbs.,  of  the  multicaulis,  28  lbs., 
are  sufficient  for  the  day.  The  changeable  animals 
under  our  care  are  now  decreasing  in  size,  since  they 
lose  part  of  their  substance  before  they  sink  into 
torpor.  The  greenish  colour  of  their  rings  becomes 
changed,  and  their  skin  is  now  wrinkled. 

*  In  the  third  age,  about  300  lbs.  of  picked  leaves  (240  lbs.  of  multi- 
caulis) have  been  put  on  the  hurdles ;  and  the  litter,  in  the  former 
case,  is  about  93  lbs.  in  weight.  Consequently,  207  lbs.  of  leaves  have 
been  transmuted  into  increase  of  animal  substance,  or  expended  in 
evaporation.  The  fceces  of  the  insect,  during  this  age,  would  weigh 
about  18  lbs. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  307 

Twenty-second  day.     The  worms  rouse  on  this 
day,  and  thus  accomplish  their  fourth  age. 

Fis-  8. 


General  remarks  on  the  fourth  age.  In 
about  7  days,  the  Avorms  have  accompHshed  their 
fourth  moulting:  their  old  skins  have  gone,  and  they 
have  new  ones.  In  this  period,  they  have  consumed, 
of  the  white  mulberry  leaves,  900  lbs.,  from  which 
tiie  refuse  rejected  was  135  lbs.  being  in  all  1035  lbs. 
of  leaves  drawn  from  the  trees  for  5  ounces ;  or  at 
the  rate  of  207  lbs.  per  ounce.  The  proportions  of 
the  7nul licaiilis  e(\mvdi\ew\.  to  these  quantities  respect- 
ively, are  720  lbs.,  S2S  lbs.,  and  166  lbs.  The  insects 
now  are  assuming  a  darker  colour,  or  grayish,  with 
a  red  tinge.  It  may  be  here  remarked,  that  whenever 
cocooneries  are  kept  in  proper  order,  the  internal  air 
is  perceived  to  be  preferable  to  the  external,  from 
the  agreeable  odour  of  the  fresh  mulberry  leaves. 

Fifth  age.  General  Remarks.  This  age  of 
the  silk  worm  is  the  longest  and  most  decisive.  It 
requires  some  experience  and  practical  good  sense,  to 
conduct  them  through  to  maturity.  As  they  grow  in 
this  age,  they  are  liable  to  three  evils,  which  attack 
them  according  to  their  strength,  and  to  their  distri- 
bution in  the  cocoonery,  and  may  inflict  weakness 
such  as  to  cause  their  destruction  :  these  are — 

1st.  The  quantity  of  fluid  disengaged  every  day, 
which  through  this  age  is  incredible,  from  the  body 
of  the  insect,  by  transpiration  and  evaporation  of  the 
leaves.  2d.  The  mephitic  exhalations,  daily  emitted 
from  the  excrementitious  matter  of  the  insects,  and 
fermentations  of  the  remains  of  the  leaves,  which  now 
are  liable,  without  constant  removal,  to  accumulate 
daily  to  a  large  amount.*     3d.  The  damp  as  well  as 

*  It  is  surprising  to  find  how  large  a  volume  of  misisma  disengages 
itself,  in  the  fifth  age,  fi-om  the  silk  worms.     If  one  ounce  of  their  fasces 


308  THE    SILK    WORM. 

hot  state  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  cocoonery,  which 
at  this  time  may  result  from  the  compound  cause  of 
the  heat  and  rarefaction  of  the  external  air  and  that 
of  the  exhalations,  which  now  are  greater,  not  only 
in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  accumulation, 
but  also  to  the  increased  temperature  of  the  season. 
The  combination  of  these  adverse  circumstances  may 
inflict  also  injuries  on  our  patients  in  three  ways : 
1st.  The  skin  of  the  worm,  by  these  means,  is  liable 
to  relaxation,  to  lose  its  elasticity,  languor,  decrease 
of  appetite,  morbid  secretions,  and  unless  the  causes 
be  arrested,  death  may  ensue.  2d.  The  quantity  of 
vital  principle  in  the  air,  by  these  means,  is  dimi- 
nished, and,  consequently,  the  breathing  of  the  insect 
is  not  only  impeded,  and  rendered  more  laborious, 
but  also  less  effectual  in  every  equal  volume  of  air, 
and  space  of  time,  to  its  continued  health  and  exist- 
ence. 3d.  The  increased  vegetable  fermentation  and 
foecal  exhalations,  aggravated  by  the  heat  of  this 
usually  hot  season,  disturb  the  electrical  constitu- 
tion of  the  air,  which  injures  animal  vitality,  for  a 
cause  analogous  to  that  which  turns  milk  sour,  from 
the  disengagement  of  oxygen  in  air  by  electrical  ac- 
tion. On  the  effect  of  electrical  phenomena  on  animal 
and  vegetable  substances,  see  Rozier's  Cour  d'Agri- 
culture.* 

be  placed  in  a  bottle  of  three  half-pints  capacity,  and  hermetically- 
corked,  in  eight  hours,  the  air  in  the  bottle  will  be  fcnind,  on  experiment, 
to  be  destructive  to  animal  life.  A  small  bird  placed  therein  would  die 
in  a  few  moments,  and  a  lighted  candle  would  be  instantly  extinguished. 
The  cocooneiy,  in  this  age,  contains  1200  lbs.  of  fcEcal  matter,  sufficient 
to  vitiate,  in  one  day,  a  volume  of  atmospheric  air  c;iual  to  1696  cubical 
feet.  "  Dictum  sapienti  sat  est,"  though  a  very  old  adage,  will  hold  true 
as  long  as  the  world  stands  :  "  A  ivurd  to  a  wise  man  is  enough;"  and 
not  one  word  need  be  said  on  the  imperative  necessity  of  getting  rid, 
almost  hourly,  if  possible,  or  daily  at  least,  of  this  rapidly  accumulating 
compound,  causing  mephitic  exhalation  from  animal  residua  and  fer- 
menting or  decaying  vegetable  matter. 

*  Vegetables,  under  the  sun's  rays,  give  out  oxygen  useful  to  animal 
life  ;  but  in  the  shade  and  darkness,  part  with  carbonic  acid  gas  noxious 
to  the  same.  Into  a  wide-necked  bottle  of  the  capacity  of  2  lbs.,  place 
one  ounce  of  fresh  mulberry  leaves,  which,  after  corking  and  exposing 
to  the  action  of  the  sun  for  an  hour  or  more,  uncork,  invert,  and  intro- 
duce a  lighted  taper :  the  light  will  become  brighter  and  larger,  evincing 


THE    SILK    WORM.  309 

Tiventy -third  day.  At  this  time  nearly  all  the 
worms  are  roused,  or  have  accomplished  their  fourth 
moulting.  The  laboratory  should  be  of  the  tempera- 
ture of  68  or  70°;  and  the  tenants,  for  they  pay  good 
rent,  must  be  accommodated  with  premises  equal  to 
917  square  feet,  or  183^  square  feet  to  each  ounce  of 
eggs.  In  the  first  day  of  the  5th  age,  the  worms 
should  fill  a  space  of  about  508  feet  square  on  the 
shelves,  which  added  to  the  413  feet  which  they  oc- 
cupied during  the  last  age,  and  which  should  now  be 
cleaned,*  form  together  the  921  feet  square  on  which 
they  are  gradually  to  spread  until  the  termination  of 

the  disengagement  of  oxygen  from  the  vegetable.  Into  another  similar 
bottle,  put  also  an  ounce  of  leaves,  which,  after  corking,  place  in  obscu- 
rity for  about  the  same  time  ;  then  introduce  a  bird,  or  a  lighted  taper, 
and  the  bird  will  perish,  or  the  light  be  extinguished,  demonstrating  the 
evolution  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  instead  of  oxygen,  as  in  the  former  case, 
from  the  same  volume  of  vegetable  matter  in  darkness  and  not  in  light 

Many  have  thought  that  light  was  injurious  to  silk  worms.  How 
long  before  the  days  of  alchemy,  astrology,  and  Canidian  conundrums 
end  !  Were  they  made  never  to  see  the  light  in  their  native  climes,  or 
to  live  with  owls  and  bats  in  Cimmerian  caves,  or  to  browse  on  Egyp- 
tian mummies,  in  darkened  pyramids  instead  of  mulberry  leaves]  On 
those  sides  of  the  hurdles  on  which  the  sun  shone  more  freely.  Count 
Dandolo  found  the  silk  worms  more  vigorous.  He  adds,  "  I  have  even 
seen  the  sun  shining  full  on  the  worms,  without  their  seeming  annoyed 
by  it.  Had  the  rays  been  too  hot,  and  shone  too  long  on  them,  they 
might  have  suffered  ;  but  this  need  not  occur,  and  does  not  affect  the 
question ;  as  I  do  not  propose  exposing  the  silk  worms  improperly  to 
the  sun,  but  only  desire  to  show  that  the  air  is  more  vitiated,  and  that 
there  is  more  damp  in  a  dark  laboratory  than  in  a  light  one." 

*  The  young  shoots  should  be  directly  distributed  on  5  or  6  shelves, 
and  should  the  shoots  fail,  bunches  of  leaves  as  before  directed,  may  be 
substituted.  As  soon  as  the  shoots  are  loaded  with  worms,  they  should 
be  taken  off.  If  the  worms  of  one  shelf  be  almost  all  roused,  they  will  be 
suflicient  to  fill  the  space  of  rather  more  than  two  shelves.  When  508 
square  feet  are  filled,  the  shelves  that  are  left  empty  should  be  cleansed. 
If  in  cleaning,  any  remaining  worms  should  be  found  roused,  by  pre- 
senting some  shoots  or  leaves,  they  may  be  taken  off  like  the  others. 
The  sheets  of  paper  with  the  litter,  must  be  rolled  up,  and  poured  into 
the  basket  for  this  purpose ;  notwithstanding  that  the  litter  which  is  just 
removed  appears  to  be  green,  and  without  any  unpleasant  smell,  yet  the 
chlorine  gas  from  the  fumigatory  bottle,  or  the  chloride  of  lime  should 
be  used  as  before  directed. 

In  a  large  establishment  of  five  ounces,  at  this  moment,  the  attend- 
ance of  six  persons  will  be  necessary.  Two  should  lift  and  put  the 
worms  on  the  shelves,  two  carry  them  away,  one  should  remove  aiwl 


310  THE    SILK    WORM. 

this  State.  This  day  about  90  Ihs.  of  the  young 
shoots  of  the  white  mulberry,  or  of  common  leaves 
not  sorted,  and  also  90  lbs.  of  picked  and  sorted 
leaves;  in  all  180  lbs.  which  is  equal  to  144  lbs.  of 
the  leaves  of  the  multicaiilis. 

The  90  lbs.  of  shoots  and  leaves  on  which  the  silk 
worms  were  removed,  furnish  an  abundant  meal ; 
the  other  90  lbs.  of  sorted  leaves  should  be  divided 
into  four  meals,  which  should  be  given  them  every 
three  hours.  In  giving  the  first  meal,  care  must 
be  taken  to  straighten  the  lines  of  the  strips  on  the 
hurdles,  by  sweeping  any  straggling  leaves  or  worms 
into  regular  order  with  a  little  broom. 

In  the  preceding  age,  900  lbs.  of  leaves  were  dis- 
tributed, and  the  litter  of  that  age,  weighed  300  lbs. 
The  worms  therefore  derived  sustenance  from  600 
lbs.  of  the  substance  including  the  loss  by  evapora- 
tion.    The  excrement  weighed  about  93  lbs. 

Twenty-fourth  day.  There  will  be  wanted  on  this 
day,  of  the  white  mulberry,  270  lbs.  of  leaves  sorted, 
and  divided  into  eight  feeds.  The  first  should  be  the 
least,  of  about  26  lbs.,  and  the  last  the  most  plentiful, 
or  of  about  48  lbs.  Of  the  multicaiilis  216  lbs.  for  the 
day  :  of  which  the  first  and  last  feeds  21  lbs.,  and  39 
lbs.  respectively  :  the  intermediate  feeds  increasing  by 
a  corresponding  ratio. 

Twenty-fifth  day.  The  worms  will  now  require 
of  the  white  mulberry  420  lbs.  of  sorted  leaves  ;  di- 
vided into  eight  meals,  the  first  smaller  increasing  to 
the  last;  the  intermediate  feeds  accordingly.  Of  the 
viulticaulis  336  for  the  whole  day.  On  this,  and  the 
preceding  day,  the  worms  continue  to  whiten ;  many 
are  now  upwards  of  two  inches  in  length. 

Twenty-sixth  day.  Our  proportions,  must  be  now, 
of  the  white  mulberry,  540  lbs.  of  sorted  leaves ;  the 
intermediate  feedings  increasing  by  a  corresponding 

place  them  on  the  hurdles,  whilst  the  other  must  roll  the  papers  and  lit- 
ter, clean  the  hurdles,  and  carry  out  the  dirt;  and  if  judged  necessary, 
an  additional  person  may  be  cini)luyed  in  distrilmting  shoots  to  the  later 
silk  worms,  that  all  things  may  proceed  without  bustle  or  confusion. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  311 

ratio,  of  the  multicauUs  for  the  whole  day  432  lbs. 
The  voracious  period  of  the  worm  is  now  rapidly  ad- 
vancing.    Some  are  now  2\  inches  long. 

Twenty-aeventh  day.  Of  the  white  mulberry  for 
the  whole  day,  810  lbs.  of  picked  leaves  will  be 
wanted.  Of  the  ^nuUicauUs,  648  lbs.  for  the  whole  day. 

If  necessary  the  worms  should  now  have  interme- 
diate feeds.  When  the  regular  distribution  of  leaves 
is  devoured  in  less  than  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  worms 
need  not  receive  any  until  the  regular  feeding,  which 
it  is  understood  is  every  three  hours. 

Twenty-eighth  day.  Give  now  of  the  ivhite  mul- 
berry, 915  lbs.  of  picked  leaves,  divided  into  eight 
feeds,  the  last  of  which  to  be  the  most  abundant.  Of 
the  multicauUs  780  lbs.  similarly  divided.  The  silk 
worms  eat  now  most  voraciously,  and  some  even  at- 
tack the  fruit  which  is  among  the  leaves.  An  inter- 
mediate meal  may  be  added  when  it  appears  neces- 
sary, as  may  be  inferred  when  the  full  quantity  ne- 
cessary to  constitute  a  meal,  is  devoured  within  an 
hour.  Some  of  the  worms  are  now  three  inches  long ; 
have  become  whiter,  and  present  to  the  feeling  a  vel- 
vet surface. 

Tiventy-ninth  day.  900  lbs.  of  white  inulberry 
well  sorted  leaves  will  be  required  this  day ;  or  720 
lbs.  of  the  multicauUs.  The  first  meal  should  be  the 
largest,  the  latter  diminish  gradually,  but  should  the 
necessity  of  any  intermediate  meals  be  indicated,  as 
it  would  by  the  sign  already  stated,  it  should  at  this 
important  crisis  be  given. 

Some  of  the  worms  are  now  upwards  of  3  inches 
in  length  :  in  certain  cases,  from  extraordinary  health 
and  good  attention,  they  are  known,  in  this  country 
to  attain  the  length  of  even  4  inches.  The  extremity 
of  the  insect  begins  to  grow  shining  and  yellowish, 
their  voracity  to  abate,  which  intimate  their  arrival 
at  maturity:  in  size  and  weight,  on  an  average,  eleven 
of  them  will  weigh  2  English  ounces  avoirdupois. 

Thirtieth  day.  The  diminished  appetite  of  our 
cocoonery-boarders  requires  now  only  660  lbs.  of  the 


312 


THE    SILK    WORM. 


white  mulberry  leaves,  well  sorted;  of  the  multi- 
caulis,  528  lbs.  to  be  given  at  eight  meals;  the  sub- 
sequent feeds  to  be  gradually  lessened.  Give  to 
backward  worms,  if  necessary,  intermediate  meals. 

The  increase  of  the  yellow  colour  extending  from 
ring  to  ring,  the  loss  of  the  dark  green  colour  before 
marking  the  rings,  the  shining  of  the  backs,  their  di- 
minishing bulk,  and  propensity  to  attach  themselves 
to  the  edges  of  the  hurdles  to  part  with  redundant 
matter,  severally  indicate  their  advance  to  maturity. 

Thirty-first  day.  Diminished  wants  now  lessen 
our  care  to  the  provision  of  495  lbs.  only  of  the  luhite 
mulberry,  or  of  396  lbs.  of  the  multicaulis  ;  which 
nuist  now  be  distributed  with  care  and  discretion  as 
wanted. 

Fig.  9. 


General  remarks  on  the  fourth  age.  Reckon- 
ing 240  lbs.  of  sorted  leaves  which  are  to  be  given 
to-morrow,  or  on  the  32d  day,  the  worms  M'ill  have 
consumed  during  this  fifth  age,  5,490  lbs.  of  picked 
leaves.  Adding  to  this,  510  lbs.  of  additional  feed  if 
required ;  the  total  weight  taken  from  the  trees  will 
be  6,000  lbs. 

The  total  weight  of  excrementitious  matter  drawn 
from  the  shelves  in  the  fifth  age,  is  about  3300  lbs. 
which  demonstrates,  that  of  (5490 — 3300)  2190  lbs. 
a  part  served  to  nourish  the  silk  worms,  and  the  rest 
exhaled  in  vapour.  Calculating  the  weight  of  the 
leaves,  and  the  loss  by  evaporation,  the  worms,  it  ap- 
pear, have  consumed  in  their  fifth  age  alone  1200 
lbs.  of  leaves  per  ounce. 

Thirty-second  day.  During  this  day  the  fifth  age 
will  be  terminated  and  the  rising  begin.  Every  thing 
should  be  cleaned  and  kept  clean.  The  silk  worm 
will  be  now  perfected,  which  may  be  known  by  the 
following  signs,  1.  When  the  insects,  instead  of  eating 


THE    SILK    WORM.  313 

leaves  put  on  the  hurdles,  get  on  them,  and  rear  their 
heads,  as  if  in  search  of  something  else.  2.  When,  on 
looking  at  them  horizontally,  the  light  shines  through 
them,  and  they  appear  of  a  whitish  yellow  transparent 
colour.  3.  When  numbers  of  the  worms  which  were 
fastened  to  the  inside  of  the  edges  of  the  hurdles,  and 
straightened,  now  get  on  the  edges,  and  move  slowly 
along  ;  instinct  urging  them  to  seek  change  of  place. 
4.  When  numbers  of  worms  leave  the  centre  of  the 
hurdles,  and  try  to  reach  the  edges  and  crawl  up  upon 
them.  5.  When  their  rings  draw  in,  and  their  green- 
ish colour  changes  to  a  deep  golden  hue.  6.  When 
their  skins  become  wrinkled  about  the  neck,  and  their 
bodies  have  more  softness  to  the  touch  than  before ; 
and  feel  like  soft  dough.  7.  When  on  taking  a  silk 
worm  in  the  hand,  and  looking  through  it,  the  whole 
body  appears  to  have  assumed  the  transparency  of  a 
ripe  yellow  plum.  These  signs  are  prognostics  of 
their  rising.  Of  course  every  thing,  before  this,  should 
have  been  prepared  for  the  accommodation  of  the  in- 
sects, that  those  which  are  ready  may  not  waste  their 
strength  and  silk,  in  seeking  for  the  support  they  require. 

In  another  place,  the  arches,  corners,  angles  or  ca- 
bins, in  which  the  silk  worm  spins, have  been  described 
as  being  part  of  the  apparatus  of  the  cocoonery.  Some 
furnish  them  with  oak  branches,  others  with  faggots, 
with  straw  set  on  end,  and  tied  near  the  middle,  or 
with  other  conveniences.  Much  depends  on  the  taste 
of  the  cultivator ;  for  on  this  point,  though  some 
methods  are  preferable  to  others,  still  opinions  will 
differ,  and  not  much  difference  will  ensue  in  the  co- 
coons when  spun,* 

In  adopting  the  plan  recommended  under  the  head 
of  cocoonery,  none  of  these  slovenly  appendages  are 
required.  They  are  in  a  few  minutes  in  their  cabins, 
and  after  looking  about  to  ascertain  in  what  position 

*  The  time  occupied  in  feeding  may  he  accelerated  or  ret.irded  by  the 
manner  of  feeding.  Two  or  three  hours  are  recommended  in  this  book 
as  the  period  between  the  times  of  feeding,  and  two  feedings  in  the  night, 
111   tliis  way   they  will  mount  a  day  or  two  and  sometimes  tliree  days 

27 


314  THE    SILK    WORM. 

they  should  arrange  their  building,for  the  larva  is  pro- 
vident and  has  forecast,  it  commences  to  throw  the  floss 
around  it.     The  spinning  is  now  fairly  commenced. 

Fig.  10.  Showing  the  form  in  which  the  silk  worm  throws  about  its 
thread. 


^^  r- 


The  care  hitherto  commended  has  tended  : — 

1st.  To  preserve  the  silk,  contained  in  the  secretors 
of  the  silk  worm,  in  a  constantly  fluid  state. 

2d.  To  keep  the  skin  of  the  silk  worm  sufliciently 
dry,  and  constantly  in  the  degree  of  contraction  neces- 
sary, and  without  which  the  silk  worm  would  perish. 

3d.  To  prevent  the  air  from  being  corrupted,  and 
which  might  make  the  silk  worm  ill,  or  cause  its  suf- 
focation, at  those  very  periods  when  it  most  needs  its 
highest  vigour  to  pour  out  all  the  silk  it  contains. 

The  silk  worm  has  now  mounted  to  spin,  but  some 
may  yet  linger.  Proper  care  should  be  taken  thorough- 
ly to  clean  the  shelves  and  hurdles  ;  the  lingering 
worms  should  be  placed  on  a  separate  shelf,  that  all 
the  cocoons  formed  in  the  cabins  above  it  may  be 
completed  and  gathered  at  the  same  time,  which  can 
thus  be  done  at  the  earliest  moment.  To  those  re- 
moved a  very  small  quantity  of  leaves  should  be  given; 
but  the  slightest  injury  at  this  age  should  not  be  given 
them,  being  particularly  hurtful.  To  these  removed 
worms,  instead  of  the  usual  cabins  as  in  other  cases, 
it  is  better  to  place  in  their  way  boughs  of  oak,  or 
heads  of  broom  corn.  The  lazy  worms  will  soon  be 
distributed  among  the  branches  and  begin  their  work. 

When  the  worms  begin  to  rise  the  greatest  care 

earlier  than  when  only  fed  three  or  four  times  in  tlie  24  hours.  But 
over  feeding  is  injurious.  The  quantity  recjuisite  should  be  divided  into 
proportions  according  to  the  {)eriod  of  the  age.  In  coming  out  of  the 
moulting  or  going  into  it,  the  feed  should,  as  before  remarked,  be  in- 
creased or  diminished,  the  appetite  of  the  worm  sharpenmg  or  failing  at 
such  periods. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  315 

should  be  taken  to  keep  the  temperature  equable.  It 
should  stand  from  68°  to  71°  Faln-enheit,  by  means  of 
the  ventilators  in  the  sides,  roof  and  floors.  They 
should  also  be  kept  as  dry  as  possible,  and  all  mois- 
ture from  excrementitious  or  other  causes  must  be 
carefully  removed.  Those  that  drop  down  while 
spinning  must  be  carried  to  and  placed  with  the  lazy 
ones  spoken  of  above.  The  air  may  be  admitted  freely 
when  the  cocoons  have  become  of  a  proper  consistency. 
Every  diseased  or  dead  worm,  and  all  bad  smells 
should  also  be  carefully  removed. 

Fig.U. 


Sixth  age.  This  age  commences  in  the  pupa 
state,  and  ends  when  the  moth  emerges  from  the  co- 
coon. The  following  are  the  necessary  things  that 
remain  to  be  done  :  1st.  To  gather  cocoons :  2d,  To 
choose  the  cocoons  which  are  to  be  preserved  for  the 
eggs  or  seed  :  3d,  Preservation  of  cocoons  until  the 
appearance  of  the  moth :  4th,  The  daily  loss  of  weight 
which  the  cocoons  suffer  from  the  time  they  are 
finished  until  the  appearance  of  the  moths. 

Gathering  the  cocoons /or  seed.  In  our  description 
of  the  cocoonery  or  afeliere,  some  account  of  a  place 
was  also  given  for  the  matured  caterpillar  to  mount 
and  spin.  We  have  seen  them  cease  to  eat,  ascend 
to  their  cabins,  elaborate  their  cocoons,  and  retire 
from  the  gaze  of  mortals.  In  three  or  four  days  from 
the  commencement  of  the  spinning  the  silk  worms  have 
finished  their  cocoons,  and  in  seven  or  eight  days*  they 

*  M.  D'Homergue,  says,  eight  days,  but  six  days  if  there  have  been 
no  thunder-storm,  to  interrupt  the  labours  of  the  moth. 

Dr.  PascaUs  informs  us  that  with  the  use  of  electricity,  his  silk  worms 
have  spun  in  27  days  from  the  hatchment. 


316  THE    SILK    WORM. 

will  be  ready  for  picking  from  their  arches,  cabins, 
bushes,  or  corners.  The  gathering  should  be  perform- 
ed with  care,  as  much  waste  of  silk  is  thereby  oc- 
casioned. The  cocoons  may  be  gathered  in  five  days 
from  being  finished,  but  where  they  do  not  all  mount 
on  the  same  day  it  is  possible  that  those  may  be  cidled 
that  are  not  quite  ripe  with  those  that  are. 

Ingatheringthey  should  not  be  bruised,butcarefully 
taken  from  their  arches  with  all  their  floss.  The  floss 
should  then  be  taken  off  with  great  delicacy,  the  fibres 
not  pierced,  and  the  cocoons  not  flattened  or  bruised. 
They  should  then  be  sorted  ;  this  is  best  done  at  the 
time  and  by  the  person  who  takes  off  the  floss.  Sort- 
ing is  selecting  those  intended  for  seed,  by  placing  them 
in  a  separate  place, always  putting  the  imperfect, soiled, 
or  those  otherwise  injured  by  themselves.  Fourteen 
ounces  of  selected  cocoons  are  equal  to  one  ounce  of 
eggs,  and  one  ounce  of  eggs  will  make  120  lbs. 
weight  of  cocoons.  In  selecting  the  cocoons  for  eggs 
the  white  are  to  be  preferred.  An  equal  number  of 
the  male  and  female  cocoons  should  also  be  selected  ; 
which  may  be  known  by  the  male  cocoon  being 
sjnaller  than  the  female,  depressed  in  the  middle  as  it 
were  with  a  ligature,  and  somewhat  sharp  at  one  or 
both  ends,  with  a  greater  degree  of  hardness  in  those 
parts.  The  female  cocoons  are  larger  than  the  male  ; 
are  round,  full,  not  much,  and  often  not  at  all  depressed 
in  the  middle,  and  more  obtuse  at  each  end.  The 
moth  makes  its  appearance  in  from  ten  to  fifteen  days. 
Some  think  that  all  balls  perfectly  formed  are  equally 
good — others  deny  this;  the  truth  seems  to  be  that 
few  well  constituted  balls  will  not  give  well  constitu- 
tioned  moths  and  eggs. 

3.  Preservation  of  cocoons  intended  for  producing 
eggs.  Experience  shows  that  where  the  temperature 
of  the  room  is  above  73°  the  transition  of  the  chrysalis 
to  the  moth  state  would  be  too  rapid,  and  the  coupling 
would  not  be  productive.  If  below  6G°  the  develop- 
ment of  the  moth  is  tardy,  which  is  also  injurious. 
Damp  air  will  change  it  into  a  weak  and  sickly  moth. 


THE    SILK    WORM.  317 

The  apartment  should,  therefore,  be  kept  in  an  even 
dry  temperature,  between  66°  and  73°.  When  col- 
lected, spread  the  cocoons  on  a  dry  floor,  or  on  tables, 
and  strip  them  clean  of  down  or  lioss,  to  prevent  the 
feet  of  the  moth  being  entangled  in  it  when  coming 
out ;  while  cleaning  them,  all  those  that  appear  to 
have  any  defect  should  be  laid  aside.  This  is  the 
time,  also,  to  separate  the  male  and  female  cocoons,  as 
far  as  we  can  distinguish  them. 

4.  7'Ae  daily  loss  in  loeight  of  cocoons  of  1000  oz., 
from  the  time  of  formation,  till  the  moth  escapes  from 
them,  is  thus  tabularly  stated  by  Count  Dandolo. 

ounces. 
Gathered  from  the  cabins,   fagots,  &c.,  and   cleaned,  the  'i    » _ . 

cocoons  weighed 5 

First  day  following,  the  said  cocoons  weighed 991 

Second  day 992 

Third  day 975 

Fourth  day , 970 

Fifth  day 966 

Sixth  day 960 

Seventh  day 952 

Eighth  day 943 

Ninth  day 934 

Tenth  day 925 

It  is  a  loss  for  the  purchaser  of  cocoons,  to  receive 
those  that  are  of  d liferent  ages,  because,  when  in 
some  cocoons  the  moth  is  preparing  to  come  forth,  and 
other  cocoons  are  not  so  forward,  the  spinners  are  at 
a  loss  whether  to  let  it  come  directly,  or  to  kill  the 
chrysalis  to  preserve  the  cocoon.  If  the  rules  which 
have  been  given,  be  exactly  followed,  this  loss  will  be 
avoided, and  the  cocoons  will  be  perfectly  formed,  and 
ready  to  be  reeled  off,  at  the  end  of  seven  days,  reck- 
oning from  the  day  they  first  rose  on  the  bushes  or 
frames.  By  reeling  off  the  cocoon  between  the  period 
in  which  they  are  formed,  and  that  in  wliich  they 
pierce  the  cocoon  to  make  their  exit,  the  silk  is  of  a 
much  better  quality,  and  the  necessity  of  killing  the 
chrysalis  is  obviated. 

Fig.  12.    The  pupa  of  the  bombyx. 


318  THE    SILK    WORM. 

The  Seventh  age  of  the  Silk  Worm.  This  age 
completes  the  entire  Hfe  of  the  moth. 

When  the  pripa,  aurelia,  or  chrysalis,  has  com- 
pleted its  transformation  in  the  cocoon,  and  is  ready 
to  depart,  it  puts  forth  a  liquid,  some  affirm  an  acid, 
to  dissolve  the  gum  ;  and  having  softened  the  point 
through  which  it  intends  to  make  a  passage,  in  defi- 
ance of  the  maxim  vestigia  nulla  retrorsum,  it 
forces  its  beak  through  tlie  fibres  of  the  cocoon,  and 
with  two  or  three  efibrts,  makes  its  exodus  from  its 
prison  into  open  day.  Sometimes  the  moth  does  not 
injure  the  cocoon  from  winding,  but  generally  it  does 
so,  and  such  cocoons  are  theret'ore  usually  set  aside 
for  floss,  to  be  carded  and  spun  like  cotton.  Some- 
times the  moth  gets  entangled  in  the  fibres,  or  the 
cocoon  is  too  hard  for  the  feeble  moth,  and  she  depo- 
sites  her  eggs  in  the  cocoon,  and  dies  there,  or  dies 
before  this  deposit.  They  should  always  be  left  to 
their  own  unassisted  etlbrts.  Nature  will  do  more 
for  them  than  art,  and  if  a  few  should  die,  that  iew 
will  be  less  than  if  the  operation  which  some  resort 
to  of  cutting  open  a  way  for  them  were  resorted  to. 
At  such  times,  the  cocoons  should  be  spread  thin  on 
tables ;  their  natural  mode  is  to  put  forth  their  heads 
and  legs  first,  as  they  help  themselves  by  laying  hold 
on  something  with  their  feet  and  antennae,  to  drag 
out  the  remainder  of  their  body.  They  live,  after 
leaving  the  cocoon,  from  five  to  twelve  days,  accord- 
ing to  the  temperature  to  which  they  are  exposed. 
The  moths  do  not  come  forth  the  first  and  second 
days:  they  are  chiefly  hatched  the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth, 
and  seventh  days,  according  to  the  degree  of  heat 
in  which  they  are  kept.  The  hours  in  which  the 
moths  burst  the  cocoons  in  grea.test  number,  are  the 
first  three  or  four  after  simrise,  if  the  temperature  be 
from  64°  to  66'',  The  male  moths,  the  very  moment 
they  come  out,  go  eagerly  in  quest  of  the  female.  When 
they  are  united,  they  must  be  placed  on  sheets  of 
newspapers,  or  some  such  thing,  so  that  when  soiled 
they    may    be    thrown   away.     Much    care    must 


THE    SILK    WORM.  319 

be  taken  in  raising  the  united  moths.  They  must 
be  held  by  the  wings,  so  as  not  to  separate  them ;  but 
it  is  better  not  to  remove  or  disturb  them  when  cou- 
pled. It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  the  male  and 
female  must  be  brought  together.  When  a  shelf  or 
table  is  filled  with  moths  in  a  state  of  union,  the  room 
should  be  made  so  dark  that  a  person  can  hardly  see 
in  it.  If  there  be  more  males  than  females,  separate 
the  unmated  from  them.  They  may  be  easily  known, 
as  the  body  of  the  female  is  nearly  twice  the  size  of 
the  male  ;  besides,  the  male  keeps  constantly  flutter- 
ing in  the  light.  The  hour  of  junction  shonld  be 
noted,  and  if  any  disunite,  they  ought  again  to  be 
brought  together ;  light  injures  them;  the  fluttering 
weakens,  and  causes  a  loss  of  their  vital,  and  conse- 
quently fecundating  powers.  The  cocoons  from 
which  they  emerged  should  be  put  away,  and  as  soon 
as  the  moths  separate,  after  a  sutRcient  time  for  con- 
junction, the  males  should  be  thrown  away.  During 
this  period,  the  attention  must  be  minute  and  constant. 
Separation  of  the  moths  and  laying  of  eggs. 
The  male  and  female  moths,  at  the  proper  time,  if  in 
proximity,  will  usually  unite  of  their  own  accord; 
but  where  they  do  not,  they  should  be  brought  by 
the  superintendent  into  juxtaposition.  After  being 
coupled,  they  should  be  permitted  to  remain  till  they 
separate  of  themselves.  European  writers  recom- 
mend that  they  be  separated  after  six  hoiws ;  but 
this  is  not  consonant  with  the  laws  of  nature,  which 
are  always  the  best  guide  in  the  instincts  of  insects 
and  animals.  If  they  separate  prematurely,  they 
ought  again  to  be  brought  together.  Let  the  place  be 
dark.  The  most  vigorous  of  the  males  must  now  be 
placed  with  the  unmated  females.  Should  the  males 
be  deficient  in  numbers,  let  the  separated  males  be 
pm  m  a  dark  box,  and  united  to  females  having  no 
mate.  The  females  are  not  injured  by  waiting  for  the 
males  a  few  hours,  the  only  loss  sustained  is  a  few 
unimpregnated  eggs.  While  they  are  thus  united, 
have  clean  cotton  calico,  white  or  coloured;  or  sheets 


320  THE    SILK    WORM. 

of  white  printing  paper  ready.  M.  Deslongcliamps 
says,  he  has  used  the  male  moth  successfully  for  six 
couphngs,  and  the  male,  after  the  sixth  union,  was  as 
lively  and  brisk  as  at  first ;  and  it  is  said  the  eggs  of 
the  thirteenth  coupling  had  all  the  characters  of  those 
of  the  best  quality.  The  disunion,  however,  had 
always  to  be  effected  with  the  hands.  Should  this 
practice  be  found  to  answer,  many  cocoons  may  be 
saved  for  winding,  which  otherwise  would  be  pierced 
by  the  male  moth. 

The  moths  having  all  been  separated,  and  the 
males  thrown  away,  the  females  are  laid  upon  white 
or  any  light-coloured  paper,  calico,  or  linen,  in  such 
order  that  they  may  deposite  their  eggs.  They  should 
have  space  to  deposite  their  eggs,  and  to  remain  from 
36  to  40  hours  luitouched.  If  the  papers  or  cloths 
are  not  covered,  other  females  should  be  laid  in  the 
vacant  spaces.  The  temperature  should  be  65°  to 
80°.  Unimpregnated  eggs  will  appear  yellow,  and 
remain  so.  Those  imperfectly  so,  reddish,  and  will 
not  produce  worms.  If  a  moth  of  a  sulphur  colour 
be  united  with  one  of  a  white,  a  handsome  orange 
will  be  produced.  The  colour,  says  Mr.  Swayne, 
depends  chiefly  upon  the  female.  Eight  or  ten  days 
after  the  deposition  of  the  eggs,  the  jonquil  colour 
peculiar  to  them  will  change  to  a  reddish  gray,  and 
afterwards  hito  pale  clay  hue  ;  the  form  is  lenticular, 
with  a  slight  depression  on  both  surfaces. 

Preservation  of  the  eggs.  When  the  eggs 
have  been  deposited  on  dry  cloths,  and  passed 
through  their  several  changes  of  colour,  as  before 
described,  the  cloths  or  paper  on  which  the  eggs  have 
been  deposited,  must  be  folded  so  as  to  admit  air  into 
them,  to  prevent  them  from  heating.  The  air  should 
be  dry,  not  above  50°,  and  not  below  zero.  Some 
th'iuk  they  should  not  be  exposed  to  frost ;  but  this  is 
an  error ;  they  have  been  repeatedly  so  exposed  down 
to  zero,  and  have  subsequently  been  hatched,  and 
produced  an  abundant  crop.  It  is,  as  before  said, 
sudden  changes   that   affect  the  e2:g.     Much  has 


THE    SILK    WORM. 


321 


been  said  and  written  upon  this  subject,  by  men  pro- 
fessing great  experience,  certainly  without  having 
made  an  experiment.  If  they  can  be  kept  between 
32°  and  55°,  without  injury  from  damp,  the  eggs  may 
be  regarded  as  perfectly  sound.  They  must  be  pre- 
served from  all  insects,  vermin,  and  other  enemies,  as 
all  insects,  birds,  and  vermin  greedily  devour  them. 
"  Good  keeping  will  produce  good  worms,"  said  Mr. 
Fally,  and  if  properly  treated,  ivill  never  degenerate 
in  this  climate. 


Fig.  13. 


Fig.  14. 


Stifling  thk  Chrysalides. — Where  the  quantity 
of  cocoons  is  small,  the  necessity  of  curing  may  be  su- 
perseded, by  immediate  reeling  ;  or  if  the  culturist  has 
on  his  premises  an  ice  house  in  which  to  deposit  the 
cocoons,  the  necessity  is  obviated,  as  the  chrysalis  will 
remain  in  a  passive  state, until  brought  to  a  temperature 
of  from  40°  to  50°.  This  system  is  advisable  where 
practicable,  since  stilling  by  baking  and  other  pro- 
cesses, is  in  some  degree  injurious.  Otherwise,  the 
moth  must  be  destroyed,  between  the  4th  and  12th 
day  at  furthest  after  the  completion  of  the  cocoon,  or  it 
will  cut  its  way  throush,  and  thus  render  the  reeling 
of  its  work  impracticable.  There  are  several  methods 
of  killing  the  pupa.  1st,  by  baking  in  an  oven  of  the 
temperature  of  88°  or  89°  wherein  the  cocoons  are 
shut  from  4  to  6  hours,  after  being  first  placed  in  bags 
which  must  be  occasionally  turned  or  moved  to  effect 
an  equal  exposure.  2d,  by  the  siui's  rays  at  a  tem- 
perature of  about  88°,  in  which  they  may  be  left  ibr 
three  days  from  9  o'clock  a.m.  to  4  p.m.  3d,  by  steam.. 
For  this  purpose,  place  the  cocoons  in  a  basket  lined 


322  THE    SILK    WORM. 

with  three  or  four  folds  of  woollen  cloth  to  promote  the 
equal  dispersion  of  the  steam.  Suffer  the  cocoons  to 
remain  in  this  basket,  of  dimensions  such  as  to  cover 
the  mouth  of  the  kettle,  after  the  basket,  raised  on 
two  pieces  of  intervening  wood,  has  been  placed  over 
the  kettle  with  water  keptboiUng  over  the  fire.  4th, 
hy  suffocation  in  the  gas  from  charcoal,  which  is 
effected  by  simply  shutting  the  cocoons  up  for  a  night 
in  a  close  room,  wherein  a  pot  of  burning  charcoal  is 
placed.  This  last  process  is  said  to  be  the  invention 
of  G.  B.  Smith  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  and  to  be  the  least 
injurious. 


PART    IV. 

REELING,  THROWSTING,  DYEING,  AND  WEAVING. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Reeling. — The  word  filature  has  two  meaning's  ;  if  is  called 
by  some  reeling,  and  by  others  \\\e  place  where  the  reeling  is  per- 
formed. The  operation  of  winding  or  reeling  from  the  cocoon  is 
called,  in  French, ^/er,  to  spin  ;  the  word  filature,  a  derivative  from 
filer,  means,  therefore,  an  establishment  where  the  reeling  is  per- 
formed. 

Reeling.  Before  the  process  of  reeling  is  described,  the  cha- 
racter of  the  cocoons  to  be  selected  for  the  filature  should  be  under- 
stood. In  another  place  has  been  mentioned  the  method  of  sorting 
the  cocoons  for  breeding,  the  cocoons  not  thus  appropriated  are 
divided  into  nine  different  qualities,  namely  : — 

1.  Good  Cocoons,  or  those  fully  brought  to  perfection.  These 
are  not  always  the  largest,  but  are  compact  and  free  from  spots. 

2.  Pointed  Cocoons,  or  those  having  one  end  rising  in  a  point, 
these  give  out  their  thread  in  reeling  a  short  time,  then  break  or 
tear  at  the  point  where  the  silk  is  weak,  and  can  be  wound  no 
further. 

3.  CocALONS,  or  cocoons  that  are  larger  than  the  regular  co- 
coons, but  do  not  contain  more  silk  ;  their  texture  being  less  com- 
pact. These  in  winding,  must  be  immersed  in  cold  water,  as 
they  furze  and  become  tangled  in  tjie  operation.  They  should  be 
separated  from  the  others  and  laid  by  themselves. 

4.  DupioNS,  or  double  cocoons.  The  threads  of  these  are  so  inter- 
twined that  they  frequently  break  in  reeling,  and  sometimes  can- 
not be  wound  at  all.  These  are  usually  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
quantity. 

5.  SouFFLONS.  These  are  very  imperfect  cocoons,  with  a  loose 
contexture,  and  are  often  transparent.     They  cannot  be  wound. 

6.  Perforated  Cocoons.  Or  those  that  have  been  pierced  at 
the  end,  and  the  filament  broken  by  the  moth,  they  cannot  there- 
fore be  reeled. 

7.  Good  Croquettes.  Or  cocoons,  wherein  the  insects  have 
died  before  perfecting  the  task.  These  when  shaken  do  not  rat- 
tle, the  worms  adhering  to  them.     These  are  as  fine,  but  not  so 

323 


324  REELING. 

Strong  and  brilliant  as  the  first  named.     They  are  apt  to  furze  and 
must  be  reeled  separately. 

8.  Bad  Choquettes.  Or  defective  cocoons,  spotted  or  rotten. 
They  furnish  foul  bad  silk,  and  of  a  blackish  colour. 

9.  Calcined  Cocoons.  Or  those  wherein  the  worms,  after 
completing  their  cells,  are  attacked  by  a  peculiar  disease,  which 
sometimes  petrifies  them,  and  at  other  times  reduces  them  to  white 
powder.  In  the  former  case  they  are  called  comfit  cocoons. 
These  cocoons  are  of  the  very  best  quality,  and  in  Piedmont  sell 
for  half  as  much  more  as  good  cocoons.  Tliey  are  rarely  met 
with. 

The  cocoons  on  the  mountains  are  considered  better  than  those 
produced  on  the  plains.     They  contain  more  of  the  white,  but  the 
balls  are  less,  and  the  worms  in  proportion  smaller. 
The  relative  value  of  cocoons  has  been  stated  thus  : — 

Good  cocoons 100 

Perforated 33^ 

Soufflons 25 

Royal  cocoons  for  seed 250 

Royal  cocoons  not  for  seed 200 

Royal  cocoons  pierced  by  the  moth  are  spun  with  the  soufflons,  &c. 
Much  pains  have  been  taken  by  a  recent  writer  to  throw  mystery 
about  the  operations  of  the  filature,  and  he  would  make  us  believe 
that  the  business  is  impracticable  without  an  apprenticeship  of 
seven  or  ten  years.  There  is  no  doubt  much  of  the  secret  lies  in 
practice  ,•  but  among  the  intelligent  classes  of  Americans  who  read, 
think,  and  act — who  have  well  constructed  minds  and  ready  hands, 
to  acquire  this  art  will  neither  require  seven  i/ears,  nor,  we  had  al- 
most said,  seven  weeks.  It  is  an  operation  of  every  day's  perform- 
ance, and  the  person  who  devotes  himself  to  the  work  will  soon 
know  his  business  correctly  if  he  possess  good  sense. 

Before  explaining  the  operations  of  the  filature,  an  explana- 
tion of  the  Fiedmuntesc  reel,  certainly  the  best  known  to  us,  not- 
withstanding all  the  improvements*  that  have  been  made  to  it  by 
various  mechanics  throughout  our  country,  may  be  proper. 

The  Silk  Reel  of  Piedmont. 

The  frame  is  6  feet  5  inches  long,  4^  by  3  inches  thick.  Dis- 
tance of  the  upright  posts  A,  B,  4  feet  4^  inches. 

C  C.  Length  of  the  braces  of  the  frame,  20  inches  in  the  clear. 
D  D,  legs  of  the  frame,  2  feet  3^  inches  long.  E,  shaft  with 
a  crown  wheel  at  each  end.  The  wheel  F,  9  inches  and  ^^  in 
circumference,  has  22  teeth.  The  wheel  G,  10  inches  and  y-^  in 
circumference,  has  25  teeth.     This  shaft  has  an  iron  pin  at  each 

*  The  improvements  heretofore  made  on  the  Piedmontese  reel  in  this 
country,  put-s  us  in  mind  of  the  account  presented  by  an  Irish  farrier  to 
a  nobleman  for  whose  horse  he  liad  prescribed.  One  item  was,  "  to  cur- 
ing your  honour's  horse  that  died." 


REELING. 


325 


M  li     I    (J  :Nt 


end,  1  inch  long.  The  pin  at  the  end  G  plays  in  a  hole  in  the 
«!houlder  near  the  top  of  the  post  O,  so  as  to  enable  the  teeth  of 
the  wheel  to  catch  and  work  in  those  of  the  pinion  at  the  end  of 
the  axle  of  the  reel,  which  axle,  by  means  of  a  pin  at  the  end,  also 
plays  in  a  hole  in  the  post  O.  The  pin  at  the  other  end  of  the 
shaft,  plays  in  a  hole  of  the  post  K,  and  the  teeth  of  the  wheel  F 
work  in  the  pinion  H,  fixed  on  the  top  of  the  post  K  by  means 
of  a  burr  screwed  on  the  pin  projecting  from  the  post,  and  passing 
through  t!i 9  centre  of  the  pinion.  This  pinion  has  35  teeth.*  On 
the  top  of  the  pinion  H  is  a  crank,  having  a  sweep  of  4  inches, 
and  receives,  on  its  top,  the  end  of  the  iron  (it  should  be  brass) 
wire  carrier  of  the  trwersingr  bar  I.  The  crank  is  fixed  half  an 
inch  from  the  commencement  of  the  grooves  of  the  pinion.  This 
crank  is  shown  in  the  figure  H.  I,  a  traversing  bar,  2  feet  10 
inches  long,  |  of  an  inch  wide,  ^  of  an  inch  thick,  and  playing 
through  the  posts  B,  K  ;  height  of  the  post  from  the  frame  17 
inches. 

L,  a  brass  carrier  of  wire.  No.  1,  IS  inches  long,  fixed  to  the 
bar  I,  to  work  free  by  a  screw.  The  other  end  is  fixed  by  a  burr, 
to  the  pin  passing  through  the  centre  of  the  pinion  H. 

jM  M.  Two  wire  hooks  or  eyes,  (rampins,)  7^  inches  apart, 
at  equal  distances  from  the  ends  of  the  traversing  bar,  through 

*  In  all  the  works  published  in  this  country  which  we  have  seen,  the 
word  here  put  teeth  is  erroneously  called  feet.  We  are  indebted  to  M. 
d'Homergue  for  this  correction,  though  his  own  book  contdins  tlie  error. 

28 


326  REELING. 

which  they  pass.  The  wires  to  the  commencement  of  the  turns 
of  the  hooks,  are  5  inches  in  lenjrth. 

N,  the  reel  arms,  2  feet  2  inches  and  yV  lon^  in  the  clear;  1^ 
inches  wide,  and  y^„  of  an  inch  thick  ;  rails  20;J  inches  long,  2 
inches  broad,  J,-  of  an  inch  thick  ;  two  of  the  arms  are  jointed,  to 
allow  the  skeins  of  silk  to  be  taken  off,  when  reeled  and  quite  dry. 
There  ought  to  be  an  extra  reel  to  put  in  the  place  of  the  one 
taken  off,  to  prevent  the  work  stopping. 

0,  upright  support  for  the  axle  of  the  reel,  on  the  ends  of 
which  the  pinion  is  fixed,  to  work  with  the  wheel  G  at  the  end 
of  the  shaft  E.  The  pinion  of  the  axle  has  22  teeth.  P,  a  brass 
plate  with  4  holes  20  inches  (not  12  inches  as  quoted  by  various 
authorities)  in  the  clear,  slightly  hollowed,  projecting  3^  inches 
from  the  bar;  the  piece  thus  projecting  3^  inches  from  the  bar, 
contains  four  holes,  so  arrranged  that  from  the  centre  of  the  one 
to  the  centre  of  the  other  is  |  of  an  inch,  but  the  four  to  be  in  the 
exact  centre,  that  is,  equidistant  from  each  end  of  the  bar.  Dis- 
tance from  the  two  inside  and  nearest  holes  4  inches  and  f^. 

Q,  the  copper  basin  to  contain  hot  water,  in  which  the  cocoons 
are  immersed  when  reeling  off.  It  is  18  inches  long,  1  foot  bread 
and  4^  inches  deep. 

R,  the  furnace  to  contain  charcoal  and  keep  the  water  hot. 

Distance  from  the  centre  of  the  posts  A,  B,  and  O,  K,  36^ 
inches.  Circumference  of  the  reel  or  aspel  G'.k  feet.  Distance 
from  tlie  top  of  one  arm,  where  it  enters  the  rail,  to  another  arm, 
18^  inches. 

From  the  axle  of  the  aspel  and  the  traversing  bar  I,  4,^.7  feet. 
The  law  of  Piedmont  says  3  feet  4  inches  and  |  the  American 
measure — that  is  from  the  guide  v.-ires  and  the  centre  of  the  reel. 
Seven  rotations  of  the  reel  causes  the  traversing  bar  to  move  five 
times  from  side  to  side. 

The  foregoing  is  a  description  of  the  most  approved  reel  now 
known  in  Europe  or  America.  The  description  and  cut  will  en- 
able any  respectable  mechanic  to  construct  one  in  all  its  parts.  It 
is  said  that  this  reel  has  recently  been  very  much  improved  by 
M.  Gensoul,  a  French  engineer,  but  in  what  these  improvements 
consists  is  not  known  in  this  country. 

The  reeling  should  be  performed  in  dry  weather,  and  women 
are  preferred  to  men,  having  smoother  fingers,  the  fibres  being 
often  broken  by  the  rough  hands  of  men.  The  air  should  be 
calm ;  the  building  lofty,  open  on  one  side  and  exposed  to  the 
sun  and  air,  but  sheltered  from  the  winds.  A  chimney  or  flue 
should  conduct  the  steam  from  the  place  of  operation,  and  the 
building  should  be  so  wide  that  wlien  the  winders  are  arranged  on 
each  side  the  manager  should  have  a  central  passage  to  enable 
him  to  overlook  the  work.  It  is  supposed  that  the  floss  has  been 
stripped  from  all  the  cocoons  intended  to  be  reeled,  and  that  the 
imperfect  cocoons  have  been  carefully  separated  from  them. 

When  the  apparatus  is  ready,  the  softest  water  must  be  chosen 


REELIXG.  327 

for  soaking  the  cocoons.  Experience  must  in  general  reorulate 
the  temperature ;  but  until  that  is  obtained,  we  shall  lend  our  as- 
sistance. Some  silk  requires  more,  others  less  heat,  some  require 
water  from  168°  to  190'^;  others  from  190°  to  202°.  Some  point 
between  these  should  be  chosen,  and  here  a  good  thermometer  is 
almost  indispensable  until  the  superintendent  has,  by  frequently 
feeling  the  water,  become  familiar  with  the  degrees  of  tempera- 
ture, which  he  will  by  attention  soon  do.  The  temperature  should 
never  reach  the  boiling  point,  or  212°. 

The  good  white  and  yellow  cocoons  are  most  easily  wound. 
Cocalons  call  for  the  greatest  care  and  skill ;  they  require  cooler 
water,  and  if  expert!}^  managed,  they  will  then  make  silk  equal 
to  the  best,  but  they  furze  out  in  hot  water  while  winding.  The 
dupions,  choquettes,  and  steamed  or  baked  cocoons  in  stifling,  if 
kept  a  long  time,  require  the  hottest  water.  The  dupions  require 
soaking  for  five  or  six  minutes  before  being  reeled.  The  un- 
steamed  or  unbaked  cocoons  give  otl' their  fibres  veiy  freel)',  and 
require  a  lower  temperature  in  the  copper.  The  fire  under  the 
copper,  should  be  increased  or  diminished  according  to  the  de- 
scription of  cocoons  to  be  reeled,  the  characteristics  of  which  are 
stated  above. 

The  intention  of  the  hot  water  is  to  soften  the  gummy  sub- 
stance they  contain,  and  thereby  facilitate  the  winding  of  the 
filaments.  The  person  havingr  the  management  of  the  reelino- 
should  be  prepared  wiih  a  whisk  of  broom-corn,  or  of  birch  twigs, 
cut  sharp  at  the  points;  and  beingr  seated  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  basin  frcm  the  reel  and  facing  it,  the  water  being  of  the 
requisite  temperature,  and  the  basin  on  a  charcoal  furnace,  he 
must  throw  into  the  basin  a  handful  or  two  of  cocoons  of  one  sort 
and  quality.  They  should  then  be  pressed  gently  under  the 
water  for  two  or  three  minutes,  in  order  to  soften  the  gum  and 
loosen  the  filaments.  He  should  then  stir  the  cocoons  with  the 
whisk,  ligrhtly  and  gently,  jtist  touching  them,  until  one  of  the 
fibres  adhere  to  it,  when,  disengaging  it  and  laying  down  the 
whisk,  he  must  draw  the  filament  towards  him  until  it  discharges 
itself  freely  from  the  floss  or  coarse  silk  which  adheres  to  the  co- 
coon, and  the  fine  silk  appears.  The  thread  is  then  broken  ;  the 
loose  floss  collected  and  laid  carefully  away  ;  the  whisk  is  re- 
sumed, repeating  the  process,  in  each  instance  laying-  the  col- 
lected fibres  separately  on  some  frame  of  wood  near  the  furnace 
for  that  purpose,  or  on  the  edge  of  the  copper  in  which  are  the 
cocoons,  until  so  many  fibres  have  been  collected  as  are  designed 
to  make  a  strand  of  fibres.  These  are  placed  together  and  drawn 
through  the  outer  or  inner  of  the  holes  in  the  brass  plate,  resting 
horizontally  over  the  copper.  The  same  process  is  repeated  until 
another  strand  is  collected  and  also  carried  through  the  corres- 
ponding inner  or  outer  hole  in  the  brass  plate.  The  preparatory 
operations  are  called  the  battue.  If  the  strands  are  coarse  they 
are  carried  through  the  inner  and  nearer  holes ;  if  fine,  through 


328  REELING. 

the  most,  distant  and  outer  holes.  After  being  thus  passed 
through  these  holes,  they  must  be  crossed  or  put  round  one 
another,  in  the  manner  in  which  a  rope  of  two  strands  is 
twisted,  for  about  20  to  25  times,  before  being  carried  through 
the  rampins  or  guide  hoolis  M  M  of  the  traversing  bar  I,  which 
should  be  made  of  brass  or  copper  wire,  as  iron  oxidizes  and  be- 
comes in  a  short  time  rough.  They  are  then  carried  forward  and 
fastened  to  one  of  the  arms  of  the  aspel  or  reel  N.  The  dislunce 
between  the  rampins  on  the  traversing  bar,  is  that  which  must 
regulate  the  distance  of  the  tiireads  on  the  reel ;  it  being  under- 
stood that  two  hanks  are  reeled  at  the  same  time.  The  filaments 
should  not  be  allowed  to  cross  until  brought  together  at  the  holes 
in  the  brass  plate  P.  In  reeling,  if  the  silk  filaments  come  off 
in  burrs  or  knobs,  the  water  is  too  hot,  and  should  be  imme- 
diately cooled  by  stopping  the  draught  of  the  furnace. 

In  commencing  tbe  operation,  one  person  should  turn  the  reel, 
and  another  attend  the  copper.  The  winding  should  begin  slowly 
with  a  regular  motion,  until  the  threads  run  freely  and  easily. 
Should  some  of  the  threads  prove  false,  as  they  sometimes  will,  a 
new  one  must  be  added  to  complete  the  number  intended  for  the 
strand  or  thread.  The  new  end  required  to  be  added  is  always 
thrown  into  the  centre  and  is  drawn  up  with  the  rest.  A  few 
additional  cocoons  should  always  be  in  the  copper,  with  their 
ends  ready  to  supply  any  tliat  may  run  out,  thereby  keeping  the 
strand  uniform  in  size,  which  is  one  of  the  perfections  of  reeling. 
The  crossing  of  the  threads  forming  the  two  strands  thrown  on 
the  aspel  during  the  operation,  is  intended  to  give  them  a  proper 
roundness.  It  aids  in  drying  the  threads,  causes  floating  fibres 
to  adhere,  prevents  the  injurious  gluing  of  the  threads  on  the 
aspel,  and  by  its  rotary  friction  removes  their  inequalities  and 
roughness,  and  thus  causes  a  perfect  adhesion  of  the  fibres,  in- 
sures their  strength,  uniform  thickness,  and  cylindrical  form ; 
without  it  they  would  be  flat.  Fine  silk  may  be  crossed  18  or 
20  times  ;  coarse  20  to  25  times.  A  law  of  Piedmont  regulat- 
ing this  procedure,  appoints  officers  to  inspect  the  filatures  in 
order  to  preserve  the  character  of  their  raw  silk. 

Wo  have  now  the  reel  in  motion ;  the  operation,  slow  at  first, 
increases  in  speed  if  the  balls  give  out  freely  ;  but  if  they  leap  up 
towards  the  brass  plate  P,  the  speed  must  be  slackened,  and  the 
spinner,  who  attends  the  balls,  directs  the  motion.  He  then 
strikes  his  hand  down  the  fibre,  and  places  the  ball  again  in  the 
water,  and  increases  somewhat  the  temperature  of  the  water  in 
the  copper.  The  speed  must  now  be  increased  or  diminished, 
the  motion  always  regular  and  equable.  If  the  cocoons  become 
blurry  or  in  knots,  the  speed  should  be  accelerated  to  the  quickest 
motion,  without  endangering  the  breaking  of  the  threads,  or  pre- 
venting the  spinner  from  supplying  the  strand  with  fresh  fibres 
to  keep  it  even  as  the  old  ones  run  out. 

The  quicker  the  motion  of  the  reel,  the  better  tiie  cocoons  wind 


REELING.  329 

off,  and  the  better  the  ends  join  to  the  thread.  The  fibres,  when 
given  off  freely,  are  less  likely  to  break  by  a  quick  than  by  a 
slow  motion.  The  threads  do  not  intermix  on  the  reel,  they  are 
distributed  in  such  manner,  that  each  thread  ranges  within  a  cer- 
tain limit  upon  the  asple,  and  no  two  threads  lie  upon  the  same 
track,  the  traversing  bar  distributing  them  so  regularly,  that  it 
requires  as  some  say  400,  and  others  even  800  revolutions  of  the 
reel,  before  a  thread  lies  upon  the  same  exact  course  of  any  pre- 
vious one.  The  intention  of  this  is  to  prevent  the  strands  from 
lying  together,  lest  the  gum  should  prevent  their  being  unwound, 
and  also  to  enable  them  to  dry  on  the  reel,  so  that  an  equal  de- 
gree of  tension  may  be  preserved.  When  the  skeins  are  finished, 
another  asple  should  replace  the  one  just  used,  so  that  while  the 
first  one  is  set  aside  to  dry,  the  second  may  be  in  operation.  It  is 
clear  then  that  the  spinner  must  be  always  replacing  and  having 
in  readiness  fresh  cocoons,  while  the  reel  is  in  motion,  so  that  no 
delay  may  be  occasioned  in  the  process.  The  operation  is  uni- 
form, and  constant  attention  and  repetition  will  enable  any  person 
to  acquire  experience  in  a  few  days,  if  not  hours.  The  size  of 
the  strand  of  filaments  is  regulated  by  the  purpose  for  which 
such  silk  is  intended.  They  vary  from  Jive  to  twenty  or  more 
fibres,  according  to  circumstances.  There  should  be  no  more 
cocoons  thrown  into  the  copper  than  is  intended  to  be  wound,  as 
by  being  too  much  soaked  in  the  hot  water,  tbey  are  apt  to  wind  otT 
inblurrs.  The  cocoons  should  be  equally  soaked,  and  when  thrown 
in,  kept  under,  as  they  are  apt  to  swim  until  saturated  with  the 
water."  In  joining  a  new  end  to  the  strand,  it  may  be  necessary 
sometimes  to  place  it  along  with  one  in  the  winding,  by  rubbing 
them  with  the  fingers,  or  gently  pressing  them.  The  art  of 
uniting  threads  is  acquired  only  by  practice.  The  difficulty  of 
keeping  the  threads  even  is  great.  The  filament  of  each  ball,  is 
not  of  equal  tenuity  throughout,  and  the  skill  of  the  reeler  is 
therefore  required,  so  to  arrange  and  bring  them  together,  that 
the  same  thickness  may  be  continuously  preserved  througrhout 
the  skein.  This  perfect  equality  is  so  difficult  of  attainment, 
that  the  degree  of  substance  in  the  silk  is  never  exactly  denned  ; 
and  with  the  exception  of  threads  of  two  cocoons  so  called,  silks 
are  not  distingfuished  as  those  produced  from  three,  four,  or  five 
fibres,  are  said  to  be  of  three  to  four,  four  to  five,  or  five  to  six 
cocoons.  Coarser  skeins  are  not  even  so  nicely  defined  ;  but  are 
called  from  twelve  to  fifteen,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  cocoons,  and 
so  on.  In  beginning  a  thread  of  ten  cocoons,  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  will  sometimes  be  required  to  preserve  the  uniform  thread, 
after  a  portion  of  the  first  layer  has  been  unwound. 

The  quantity  of  silk  reeled  in  a  given  time  depends  on  the 
quickness  of  the  spinner  in  supplyinof  fibres  to  the  thread  from 
fresh  cocoons.  The  spinner  should  have  at  her  side  a  bowl  of 
cold  water,  and  also  some  chips  or  shavings,  with  which  to  re- 
gulate the  temperature  of  the  water  in  the  copper.  The  cold 
28* 


330  REELING. 

water  is  also  necessary  to  cool  her  finffera  in  when  loo  mneli 
heated.  The  facility  of  reeling  depends  niurh  on  a  rig-ht  lempe- 
rature  of  the  water.  K  too  hot,  the  tlirt!a<l  is  technically  dead,  if 
too  cold,  the  ends  will  not  join  well,  and  the  silk  will  be  harsh. 
The  winding-  cannot  be  performed  in  cold  water,  as  the  fibres 
easily  break,  and  with  the  least  moisture,  the  filaments  of  the 
strand  or  thread  separate,  which  is  not  the  case  when  hot  water 
is  used. 

In  some  of  the  French  filatures,  particularly  at  Cevennes,  the 
following- plan  is  adopted  in  reeling-.  "In  preparing  fine  silk, 
the  cocoons  are  not  wound  off  entirely,  so  as  to  leave  the  pellicle 
of  the  chrysalis  bare,  for  two  reasons  :  first,  because  the  addi- 
tional fibre  required  to  be  added,  when  the  first  and  strong  part 
of  the  fibre  is  observed  to  be  spent,  might  make  the  compound 
thread  too  stout,  and  thus  cause  a  waste  of  silk ;  secondly,  be- 
cause the  fibre  of  a  cocoon  which  has  been  entirely  wound  oft', 
besides  being  weak,  also  abounds  in  knots,  which  would  cause 
it  to  break  in  winding,  and  injure  its  uniformity,  in  which  the 
goodness  of  the  thread  mainly  consists.  Therefore,  in  winding 
fine  silk,  when  the  cocoon  has  given  oflf  three-fourths  and  a  half 
of  silk,  that  is,  about  335  yards,  it  must  be  replaced  by  another 
cocoon;  the  remainder  of  the  first  cocoons  must  be  set  aside, 
and  their  silk  added  to  that  of  an  inferior  quality.  When  the 
first  parcel  of  cocoons  is  nearly  finished,  take  out,  with  the  ladle, 
all  those  on  which  some  silk  has  been  left ;  let  them  be  opened, 
the  chrysalides  taken  out,  and  the  shells  put  in  a  basket  with 
the  floss  first  pulled  off.  Those  cocoons  which  are  partly  wound 
off  must  on  no  account  bo  permitted  to  remain  in  the  basin ;  for 
they  will  obscure  and  thicken  the  water,  and  injure  the  colour 
and  lustre  of  the  silk,  which  can  t'len  be  used  only  for  dark 
colours;  besides  this,  the  consistency  of  the  silk  is  injured,  and 
waste  ensues  in  the  winding.  The  shells  must  be  imme- 
diately buried,  or  placed  among  the  composts  for  manure.  As  a 
general  rule,  the  water  in  the  copper  should  be  changed  as  often 
as  discoloured.  On  commencing,  the  holes  and  rampins  should 
be  always  wet,  to  cause  the  thread  to  run  easily.  The  waste 
silk,  whether  the  remains  of  cocoons,  or  of  the  floss  collected 
in  the  battue,  should  be  carefully  put  aside.  "  Gather  up  the 
fragments,  that  nothing-  be  lost,"  is  a  good  rule  in  this  case, 
(/arded  and  spun  like  cotton,  it  will  compose  excellent  fabrics. 
The  geering  of  the  reel  should  always  be  complete;  the  mortise 
in  which  the  traversing  bar  plays  should  be  oiled,  the  cog-wheels 
should  play  in  proper  contact;  and  the  Ijassinafis,  or  defective 
cocoons  found  in  the  copper,  which  will  not  wind  off  with  the 
good  ones,  being  full  of  knobs,  nmst  be  taken  out  of  the  copper, 
and  kept  and  wound  by  themselves.  The  breaking  of  the  fil-a- 
ments  arises  from  ill-formed  cocoons,  or  the  ini])roper  heat  of  the 
water.  The  whole  thread  is  sometimes  broken  in  its  passage  from 
the  copper  to^the  reel,  through  the  stopping  of  loops  in  the  layer 


REELING.  331 

by  knobs,  or  by  tlie  reel  ho'mg  turnod  by  a  jerking  motion.  They 
should  not  be  knotted,  but  sliofhtly  twisted,  which  will  sufficiently 
unite  them.  The  value  of  silk  is  increased  or  diminished  accord- 
ing to  the  quantity  of  knobs  or  knots  with  which  the  raw  silk 
abounds.  If  the  silk  be  clean  when  the  skein  is  opened,  it  is  a 
sign  of  being  well  reeled. 

The  soufflons,  royal  cocoons  pierced,  and  other  perforated  and 
imperfect  cocoons,  which  w  ill  not  stand  the  filature,  are  boiled  in 
water,  the  soufilons  for  half  an  hour,  the  perforated  cocoons 
somewhat  longer,  and  the  royal  cocoons  a  full  hour.  They  then 
undergo  a  process  to  reduce  the  chrysalides,  and  prepare  them 
for  making  //e:/re/.  Boiling  and.heating  will  increase  their  beauty. 
Of  Jleuref,  the  royal  cocoons  make  the  best,  next  the  perforated, 
and  lastly  the  souillon  cocoons.  The  coarse  floss  and  refuse  of 
the  spinning,  make  very  inferior  silk.  The  cocoons  from  which 
the  moth  has  escaped,  it  has  been  shown,  can  be  frequently  reeled 
as  well  as  the  best. 

^Vhen  the  spinner  leaves  off  work  for  a  time,  the  cocoons 
should  be  all  raised  out  of  the  water  with  a  ladle,  till  his  return. 
The  better  practice,  however,  is  to  let  fresh  hands  relieve  the 
spinner  and  reeler,  and  keep  the  operation  in  motion  throughout 
the  day.  The  reeler  should  watch  the  threads  and  the  rampins, 
that  be  may  apprise  the  spinner  when  an}'  thing  is  wrong, 
for  his  eyes  will  be  sufficiently  ensraged  about  the  cocoons. 
The  reeler  should  be  instructed  to  rectify  any  thing  amiss  in  the 
thread  near  the  reel,  one  hand  being  always  unemployed.  No 
sand  should  be  allowed  in  the  water,  as  it  will  cut  the  fibres  as 
would  a  knife.  The  water  containing  it  should  be  immediately 
renewed.  In  a  large  filature,  a  boiler  miffht  be  constructed  to 
supply  the  coppers  or  tin  basins,  and  the  latter  be  supplied 
with  heat  from  chips,  to  regulate  the  temperature,  as  charcoal, 
unless  in  a  fireplace,  is  dangerous,  from  the  carbonic  acid  gas 
evolved  in  combustion.  In  using  the  whisk,  and  in  reeling,  the 
temperature  of  the  water  is  soon  ascertained,  as,  if  too  hot,  the 
cocoons  rise  to  the  brass  plates,  come  off  in  blurrs,  or  are  drawn 
off  by  the  whisk  in  lumps.  If  too  cold,  the  whisk  will  not  catch 
the  ends  of  the  fibres. 

A  woman  at  Novi,  in  Piedmont,  says  one  authority,  will  reel 
one  pound  of  silk  in  a  day.  Another  says,  with  later  improve- 
ments, three  pounds  in  tw'elve  hours.  Neither  of  them  have  stated 
precisely  the  character  of  the  material.  One  may  with  three 
fibres  reel  a  pound,  while  another  with  nineteen  or  twenty  may 
reel  three  pounds  with  less  labour.  Most  of  our  statistics  are 
thus  indefinitely  prepared.  M.  Nouaille  says  a  reeler  and  spin- 
ner can  produce  one  pound  of  four  or  Jive  cocoons.  This  is  to  the 
point,  and  means  something.  All  agree  that  careful  experienced 
spinners  will  from  the  same  material  make  a  difference  of  1^ 
ounce  of  reeled  silk  in  from  7  to  8  lbs.  of  cocoons. 


332  REELING. 

When  the  necessary  quantity  has  been  reeled  to  form  a  hank, 
pick  off  the  loose  fibres,  then  take  a  handful  of  the  coarse  silk, 
and,  after  washing  and  squeezingr  it,  dip  it  lio^htly  in  cold  water, 
and  with  it  rub  the  silk  on  the  reel,  at  the  same  time  strokinir  it 
with  the  palm  of  the  hand.  Open  the  windows,  turn  the  aspic 
or  reel  with  a  rapid  movement  for  eight  or  ten  minutes  to  dry  the 
silk,  then  lay  the  asple  aside,  and  place  another  on  the  reel  and 
proceed  as  before.  The  reeled  silk  with  the  asple  should  be  left 
in  a  dry  place  where  the  sun  does  not  shine.  This  operation 
adds  greatly  to  its  lustrous  appearance.  The  Piedmontese  law 
forbids  any  thing  but  the  dry  palm  of  the  hand  to  be  used. 

To  reel  dupions,  the  water  must  be  boiling  hot.  The  reeler, 
when  the  machine  stops  for  the  spinner  to  get  ready,  should  pick 
off  the  loose  floss  and  lumps  from  the  silk  on  the  asple.  Thn 
strand  should  contain  from  18  to  20,  when  intended  for  sewing 
silk,  or  from  40  to  50  for  coarse  stuffs.  Good  choquettes  have  from 
7  to  8  in  the  strand,  and  liad  choquettes  or  chiqucs,  as  they  are 
sometimes  called,  from  15  to  20  fibres  in  the  thread  or  strand. 
The  satiny  cocoons  do  not  require  the  water  to  be  so  hot,  but 
regulated  as  the  cocoons  are  free,  or  otherwise,  to  give  off  their 
fibres.  The  water  in  the  copper  should  be  changed  often,  and  a 
few  only  put  in  at  a  time.  Before  throwsting  the  silk  is  examined 
and  selected  so  that  different  kinds  may  not  be  in  the  same  par- 
cel. Where  the  silk  is  of  a  good  quality  and  well  reeled,  this 
tedious  and  expensive  process  may  be  dispensed  with.  The 
Piedmontese  government  have  strict  laws,  obviously  intended  to 
insure  the  quality  of  the  silk  and  sustain  its  reputation,  but  actu- 
ally to  preserve  in  the  hands  of  the  wealthy  a  monopoly  of  the 
business,  whereby  the  poorer  cultivators  are  unjustly  restricted 
from  the  conversion  of  their  own  produce,  or  to  derive  from  their 
own  labours  the  advantages  of  which  they  are  capable. 

Disbanding  the  silk  from  the  reel.  This  is  a  simple  opera- 
tion, but  yet  judgment  is  requisite.  The  cocoons,  if  not  well 
sorted  in  reeling,  will  produce  different  degrees  of  tension ;  and 
this  will  be  somewhat  the  case  under  all  circumstances.  To 
obviate  this  difficulty  is  an  important  point.  Some  cocoons,  be- 
ing longer  in  the  water  than  others,  will  contribute  to  this  cause. 
They  do  not  all  give  off  their  fibres  witii  equal  facility,  and  hence 
an  inequality  of  tension,  which,  though  slight,  has  its  injurious 
effects.  To  make  the  disbanding  perfect,  the  skein  should  re- 
main six  or  eight  hours  on  the  asple,  which  brings  any  inequality 
of  tension  more  uniform.  By  this  time  the  threads  are  dried  and 
the  fibres  united:  an  important  point.  Before  disbanding,  the 
several  hanks  should  be  squeezed  close  together,  the  end  of  tiie 
strand  marked  so  that,  when  it  is  to  be  unwound,  it  may  be  easily 
discovered ;  the  hanks  are  then  tied  with  threads  of  the  refuse 
silk,  at  the  places  where  they  bore  on  the  bars,  and  also  at  the  op- 
posite end  to  the  first  tie ;  it  may  then  be  slided  off  the  bars, 
doubled  and  laid  by  in  a  dry  place. 


THROVVSTING.  333 

THROWSTING    OR   TWISTING. 

Before  describing  the  process  o{  throwsting  or  twisting  silk,  it 
may  be  necessary  to  explain  the  several  changes  into  which  raw 
silk  passes,  in  preparing  it  for  the  loom.  These  may  be  classed 
\inder  six  heads,  and  we  will  name  them  in  the  order  in  which 
they  stand  as  respects  value  and  fineness.  It  may  be  proper  to 
remark  that  throivn  silk  is  that  which  has  been  twisted  in  a  mill 
or  machine  called  a  tJirowsiing  machine,  by  placing  as  many  fila- 
ments together  of  the  raw  silk  as  is  intended  to  make  the  de- 
signed material.  The  raw  silk  is  always  assorted  and  thrown 
with  reference  to  its  fineness  or  adaptation  to  certain  fabrics. 

1.  Singles  ;  or  silk  of  the  first  quality. 

2.  Organzine  ;  or  silk  of  the  second  quality. 

3.  Tram  ;  or  silk  of  the  third  quality. 

4.  Sewing  silk  of  the  first  and  second  quality. 

5.  Cordonnet;  or  twist  of  the  first  and  second  quality. 

6.  Filoselle  ;  or  floss,  fleuret,  flurt,  or  ferret  silk. 

The  silk,  when  prepared  as  above,  is  said  in  England  to  be 
throvsted,  and  in  French  to  be  moulince  or  milled.  The  choquettes 
or  chiques  is  a  thread  prepared  in  a  different  way  for  the  manufac- 
ture. The  five  former  of  the  enumerated  classes  of  silk,  namely, 
singles,  organzine,  tram,  and  sewing  silk  and  twist  or  cordonnet, 
are  twisted  on  le  moulin  a  forclre,  or  the  throwsting  mill,  and  the 
latter  on  the  travelk,  a  machine  made  on  the  same  principle,  but 
of  smaller  dimensions.  The  floss  is  made  by  carding  and 
spinning  as  cotton,  and  is  to  the  finer  silk  what  tow  is  to  flax. 

Singles  ;  called  k  puil,  {Fr.,)  or  hair  silk,  is  made  from  the 
first  quality  of  raw  silk,  and  is  throwsted  single  as  unwound  from 
the  swifts.  It  is  used  for  woof,  or  shoot,  when  the  warp  is  con- 
stituted of  cotton. 

Organzine,  or  organsin  (Fr.)  is  the  next  in  fineness,  and  is 
used  for  warp  of  staffs  made  of  silk. 

Tram,  or  la  tram,  (Fr.,)  which  means  woof,  is  the  third  in 
quality,  contains  the  greatest  number  of  fibres,  and  is  used  when 
all  the  cloth  or  stuff  is  to  be  of  silk. 

Sewing  and  twist  silk  require  the  greatest  abundance  of 
labour.  The  former  (sewings)  require  three  times,  the  latter, 
(twist,)  six  times  as  much  doubling  and  twisting  as  the  former. 
These  are  the  perfection  of  thrown  silk. 

Throwsting. — In  a  former  part  of  this  work,  the  history  of  the 
introducdon  of  the  throwsting  mill  into  England  has  been  detail- 
ed. Since  then,  vast  improvements  have  been  made  in  throwst- 
ing mills,  under  the  skill  of  able  engineers,  by  which  much  of  the 
fabrics  of  the  French,  and  all  that  of  the  English  looms  are  now 
prepared.  Amongst  the  Italians,  the  throwsting  macninery  in- 
vented when  the  Messrs.  Lomhe  first  carried  off  their  improve- 
ments, are  unchanged.  Even  in  France,  up  to  a  recent  date,  no 
improvements  have  been  made  in  throwsting  organzine,  although 


334 


THROVVSTING. 


the  most  extensive  manufacturers  in  the  world,  and  most  of  that 
material  are  derived  from  the  Italians. 

Before  raw  silk  can  be  used  for  manufactures  it  must  take  one 
of  the  three  forms  before  described,  namely,  singles,  organzine, 

or  TRAM. 

Raw  silk,  in  its  progress  towards  organzine,  passes  through 
six  processes. 

1.  The  winding  it  from  skeins,  upon  what  are  called  bobbins, 
in  the  winding  machines. 

2.  Sorting  it,  when  so  wound,  into  different  qualities. 

3.  Sjjinning  or  twisting  each  individual  thread  in  the  mill. 

4.  Bringing  together  upon  fresh  bobbins,  two  or  more  threads 
already  spun  or  twisted. 

5.  Twisting  these  two  or  more  threads  together  by  means  of 
the  mill. 

6.  Sorting  the  skeins  of  twist  or  organzine,  according  to  their 
different  degrees  of  fineness. 

The  machine  for  winding  the  raw  silk  is  called  a  winding  ma- 
chine, one  segment  of  which  is  here  given,  the  other  parts  bemg 
only  reduplicates  of  the  same,  extended  by  the  usual  connections, 
to  any  indefinite  length. 

Fig.  16. 


THROWSTING.  335 

The  skeins  being  opened  they  are  extended  upon  one  of  the 
reels  represented  by  A  A,  which  is  called  a  swift  .•  this  is  formed  of 
4  rods  passing  through  or  fixed  in  the  axis,  so  as  to  form  a  double 
reel  of  8  spokes,  4  of  them  making  right  angles  with  each  other, 
and  standing  opposite  and  parallel  to  4  spokes  on  the  other  side. 
These  parallel  spokes  are  connected  together  by  bands  of  strings, 
thus  forming  a  kind  of  lantern  wheel,  and  the  bands  can  be  fixed 
so  as  to  vary  the  diameter  of  the  wheel,  in  order  to  suit  aiiy  kind  or 
s?ze  of  skein  to  be  placed  upon  it.  This  provision  is  rendered 
necessary  by  the  circumstance,  that  the  raw  silk  of  most  coun- 
tries is  so  wound  as  to  be  equal  in  circumference  to  a  yard,  ac- 
cording to  the  standard  measure  of  the  country,  and  as  some 
difference  exists  in  these  standards,  the  reel  which  would  suit  the 
silk  imported  from  one  quarter,  would,  without  some  such  provi- 
sion, be  unsuited  to  that  of  any  other  country. 

The  swifts  may  be  made  to  revolve  freely  upon  wire  pivots  ; 
but  as  it  is  needful  to  wind  the  silk  from  them,  and  to  deliver  it 
upon  the  bobbins,  with  a  uniform  degree  of  tension,  simple 
means  are  employed  for  creating  the  necessary  amount  of  friction, 
either  by  means  of  a  spring,  or  by  hanging  a  looped  wire  upon 
the  axis  withinside  the  reel.  To  this  loop  a  small  leaden  weight  is 
attached.  B  B  are  what  are  called  the  bobbins  ;  these  are  made 
of  wood,  and  consist  of  a  hollow  axis,  on  each  extremity  of  which 
is  fixed  a  circular  disc,  the  uses  of  which  discs  are  to  cause  the 
revolution  of  the  bobbins,  in  a  manner  which  will  be  described, 
and  to  confine  the  silk  upon  the  hollow  axis.  These  bobbins  can 
be  easily  placed  in  or  withdrawn  from  the  frame.  D  is  called 
the  layer.  This  is  a  light  wooden  rod 'having  wire  eyes  fixed  in 
it,  one  opposite  to  each  bobbin,  through  which  eye  the  end  of  the 
thread  upon  the  reel  is  passed  when  it  is  attached  to  the  bobbin. 
This  layer  has  a  lateral  motion  communicated  to  it,  by  means  of  a 
crank  fixed  upon  the  cross  spindle  E,  which  crank  is  turned  by 
two  bevelled  wheels  fixed  at  the  end  of  the  horizontal  spindle  G. 
The  whole  is  put  in  motion  by  the  bevelled  wheel  on  the  upright 
shaft  F,  which  is  connected  with  another  bevelled  wheel  on  the 
spindle  G.  This,  revolving,  carries  with  it  the  wheels  or  discs 
H  H,  and  the  discs  of  the  bobbins  resting  upon  these  are  carried 
round  by  the  friction  caused  by  their  own  weight,  and  occasion, 
consequently,  the  delivery  of  the  silk  from  the  reels  upon  the 
bobbins.  The  motion  of  the  layers  causes  this  delivery  to  be 
uniform  over  the  axis  of  the  bobbins.  The  constant  attendance 
of  our  children  upon  this  winding  machine  is  requisite,  in  order 
to  join  the  ends  of  any  threads  which  may  be  broken  in  winding, 
and  when  the  skeins  are  exhausted,  to  place  new  ones  upon  the 
swifts.  When  the  bobbins  are  filled  they  are  lifted  out  of  the 
frame,  and  empty  ones  are  placed  in  their  stead,  to  which  the 
skein  being  attached,  the  operation  is  continued.  During  the 
time  occupied  in  removing  the  skeins  upon  the  swifts,  or  of  re- 
moving and  replacing  the  bobbins,  the  process  is  still  continued 


336 


THROWSTING. 


with  the  unexhausted  swifts  and  unfilled  bobbins,  each  being  in 
that  respect  independent  of  the  other. 

The  third  operation,  that  of  spinning  or  twisting  the  thread 
thus  wound  upon  the  bobbins,  is  performed  with  the  throwsting 
mill.  The  particular  construction  of  this  mill  is  frequently  varied, 
but  the  principle  of  its  action  being  always  the  same,  it  would  be 
useless  to  describe  more  than  one  of  its  modifications.  Mills  of 
great  power  and  considerable  extent  are  generally  used  for  this 
purpose  in  England,  but  on  the  continent  it  is  by  no  means  un- 
usual for  artisans  to  purchase  raw  silk  and  to  employ  their  wives 
and  children  in  preparing  it  for  weaving.  The  machines  which 
are  then  used  are  necessarily  small,  and  are  turned  by  hand  ;  from 
the  form  in  which  it  is  usual  for  them  to  arrange  the  spindles, 
the  apparatus  is  called  by  them  the  oval.  This  throwsting  mill 
is  now  chosen  for  description  in  consequence  of  its  simplicity. 

Fig.  17. 


The  number  of  spindles  which  it  contains  is  thirteen,  and  of 
these,  to  avoid  confusion,  only  six  are  shown  in  the  diagram,  or 
cut,  the  remainder  would  be  arranged  behind  those  which  are 
seen.  Upon  each  of  the  spindles  the  hollow  axis  of  a  bobbin, 
before  described,  is  placed,  so  that  the  bobbin  has  liberty  to  turn 
freely  upon  the  spindle.  Upon  each  spindle,  just  above  the  bob- 
bin, a  piece  of  hard  wood  is  so  fixed  by  a  pin  as  to  cause  the 
wood  to  revolve  with  the  spindle.  To  this  wood  is  fixed  a  piece 
of  wire  called  a  flyer, //,  bent  in  tlie  form  here  given.  At  each 
extremity  of  tlie  flyer  an  eye  is  foruied  ;  of  these  the  lower  eye 
stands  opposite  the  middle  of  the  bobbin,  and  the  upper  eye  is 


TUROWSTING.  337 

exactly  over  the  centre,  and  a  few  inches  above  the  top  of  the 
spindle.  The  thread  from  the  bobbin  is  passed  through  both 
these  eyes,  and  also  through  another  wire  eye,  fixed  in  an  oval 
frame  L,  which  has  a  traversing  motion  to  and  fro,  communicated 
to  it  bj'  means  of  a  crank,  or  an  eccentric  pin,  K,  This  is  fixed 
in  a  cog  wheel,  turned  by  a  pinion  upon  the  perpendicular  axis 
E,  the  end  of  the  rail  /,  being  supported  upon  a  roller,  to  cause 
its  more  easy  and  regular  motion,  so  that  the  threads  are  guided 
with  regularity  to  the  reel  K,  in  the  same  manner  as  by  the  layer 
to  the  bobbins  in  the  winding  machine  before  described.  Motion 
13  communicated  from  the  crank  B  to  the  spindles,  by  means  of  a 
wheel  D,  connected  with  a  pinion  on  the  upper  end  of  the  vertical 
axle  E,  which  also,  at  its  lower  end,  has  a  drum  F  to  receive  the 
endless  strap  or  band  a  a.  This  encompasses  the  oval  frame  G, 
and  gives  motion  to  all  the  spindles,  being  so  confined  by  the 
rollers  d  and  a  as  to  press  with  the  requisite  degree  of  force  upon 
the  spindles,  and  to  give  all  of  them  an  uniform  celerity. 

It  is  now  evident,  that  every  revolution  of  the  spindle  and  flyer 
must  give  a  twist  to  the  thread  drawn  from  the  bobbin.  Whe- 
ther the  twist  shall  be  hard  or  slack,  depends  upon  the  compara- 
tive celerity  of  the  spindles  and  bobbins,  and  this  proportion  is 
regulated  by  the  relative  sizes  of  the  wheel  h,  and  the  pinion  i, 
whence  the  reel  and  bobbin  receive  their  motion.  For  ditferent 
manufacturing  purposes,  silk  must  be  thrown  or  twisted  with 
different  degrees  of  hardness ;  this  is  provided  for  by  the  power 
of  changing  the  wheel  and  pinion  h  and  i,  for  others  of  different 
proportional  diameters. 

For  the  purpose  of  clearer  elucidation,  one  of  the  spindles  is 
shown  without  a  bobbin,  while  the  rest  are  all  mounted,  and 
supposed  to  be  in  action.  The  skeins  upon  the  reel  should  be 
made  of  a  uniform  length,  and  this  is  attained  by  a  train  of 
wheels  consisting  of  a  pinion  n,  fixed  on  the  principal  spindle  R, 
turning  a  wheel  o,  which  has  a  pinion  fixed  to  and  turning  with 
it,  giving  motion  to  a  larger  wheel  p.  This,  again,  has  another 
smaller  wheel  upon  its  spindle,  with  a  pin  fixed  in  it,  so  that  at 
every  revolution,  it  raises  a  hammer  and  strikes  upon  a  bell  s, 
whereby  the  attendant  has  notice  of  the  quantity  wound  on  the 
skeins. 

When  the  machine  is  employed  for  the  first  operation  of  twist- 
ing raw  silk  for  organzine,  which  requires  a  strong  and  close 
twist,  the  wheel  h  must  be  of  greater  and  the  pinion  i  of  less 
diameter  than  are  here  represented,  in  order  that  the  reel  K,  and 
the  bobbins,  may  receive  a  slower  motion,  in  proportion  to  the 
speed  of  the  spindles. 

The  silk  is  now  in  the  form  of  singles,  the  only  difference  be- 
tween which  and  the  single  twist  in  course  of  preparation  for 
organzine,  besides  the  degree  of  hardness  noticed  above,  is,  that 
in  the  latter  process  the  crank  must  be  turned  in  an  opposite  di- 
rection, SQ  as  to  give  a  reverse  motion  to  the  machinery.  Organ- 
29 


338  THROWSTING. 

zine  silk  is  of  the  nature  of  rope,  where  the  combined  strands 
are  twisted  in  an  opposite  direction  to  that  given  to  the  separate 
threads,  whereas,  singrles  and  tram  are  twisted  only  in  one  direc- 
tion, similarly  to  twine,  or  to  the  individual  strands  of  which 
the  larger  rope  is  made. 

When  silk  is  intended  to  be  dyed  in  the  skein,  the  twisting  in 
this  machine  is  but  slight,  and  its  direction  must  of  course  depend 
upon  its  ulterior  destination,  whether  fur  tram  or  for  organzine. 
Silk  thread,  intended  for  organzine,  is,  in  this  first  operation, 
twisted  in  a  left-hand  direction. 

The  next  operation  is  to  bring  two,  three,  or  more  of  these 
twisted  threads  together  upon  one  bobbin.  The  number  of  the 
threads  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  substance  which  it  is  intended 
to  give  to  the  organzine,  and  a  careful  sorting  of  the  threads  must 
be  made,  so  as  to  bring  together  such  only  as  are  of  an  uniform 
texture.  To  effect  this,  a  machine  is  used  very  similar  to  the 
winding  machine  alread}'  described.  Instead  of  gathering  the 
silk  from  the  bobbins  on  a  reel,  in  its  first  twisting  in  the  throw- 
ing machine,  when  the  object  is  to  prepare  organzine,  it  is  usual 
to  transfer  it  to  other  bobbins.  In  the  operation  of  doubling, 
these  bobbins  are  placed  in  front  of  the  winding  machine,  where, 
of  course,  they  take  the  place  of  the  swifts,  and  stand  two,  three, 
or  more  in  a  row,  according  to  the  number  of  strands  to  be  si-bse- 
quently  brought  together  in  the  organzine,  in  the  manner  shown 
by  the  following  figure. 

Fig.  18.     Doubling  Machine. 


The  threads  in  the  bobbins  are  passed  over  one  and  beneath 
another  wooden  rail  m  and  71,  with  both  of  which  they  are  brought 
in  close  contact.  These  rails,  being  covered  with  cloth,  serve  to 
cleanse  the  silk  in  its  passage,  equally  well  with  the  less  artifi- 
cial means  offered  by  the  fingers  of  the  person  employed  in 
winding. 

In  their  passage  or  transference  from  one  set  of  bobbins  to  the 
other,  each  thread  passes  through  a  small  piece  of  wood  e,  which 
slides  freely  up  and  down  in  a  mortised  hole  through  the  fixed 
board  /.  The  use  of  these  slides,  which  are  equal  in  number 
with  the  threads  to  be  brought  together,  will  soon  be  seen.  All 
the  threads  are  then  passed  through  the  wire  eye  d,  of  the  layer 
D,  which  it  is  niQre  convenient  to  place  behind  the  bobbin,  caus- 
ing the  wire  to  be  bent  over  it,  us  shown  in  the  figure.     The 


THROWSTING.  339 

bobbins  to  be  filled,  rest  upon  and  take  their  revolving  motion 
from  the  wheels  F,  as  in  the  winding  machine.  The  degree  of 
tension  given  to  the  silk  threads  in  winding  causes  them  to  raise 
the  sliders  e.  Should  any  one  of  the  threads  break,  the  slider 
through  which  it  passed,  no  longer  supported  by  it,  strikes  upon 
the  bent  lever  /  v,  which  moving  upon  its  centre  u\  causes  the 
hook  V  to  catch  into  the  notches  made  for  that  purpose  in  the  disc 
of  the  bobbin  B,  and  this  immediately  stops  its  motion.  The 
winding  of  the  required  number  of  threads  thus  proceeds  with 
as  much  certainty  as  the  winding  of  one  would  do.  It  is  the 
business  of  the  attendant  to  repair  the  broken  thread,  when  the 
slide  e  being  again  raised,  the  weight  .r,  attached  to  the  bent 
lever  1 1\  raises  the  end  /,  frees  the  notched  bobbin  from  the  hook 
r,  and  the  machine  is  once  again  in  motion. 

The  bobbins,  thus  filled  with  double  or  triple  threads,  are  once 
more  carried  to  the  throvvsting  machine,  and  are  there  spun  or 
twisted  together  by  an  operation  similar  to  that  already  described, 
with  the  sole  difference  before  mentioned,  of  giving  a  reversed 
direction  to  the  spindles  and  flyers.  In  this  operation,  the  silk, 
now  converted  to  organzine,  is  transferred  to  reels  instead  of  bob- 
bins, and  then,  being  made  up  into  skeins,  is  sorted  for  sale  or 
use.  Previously  to  this,  however,  and  in  order  to  prevent  its 
crinkling  when  removed,  a  tendency  to  which  it  has  acquired  in 
twisting,  the  reels  are  subjected  for  two  or  three  minutes  to  the 
action  of  steam,  which  is  found  effectually  and  permanently  to  set 
the  twist.  This  is  a  modern  improvement,  it  having  formerly 
been  the  practice  to  steep  the  reels  in  boiling  water,  a  more 
tedious  and  less  effectual  operation.  The  degree  of  hardness 
given  to  the  twist  is  varied  according  to  the  purpose  for  which  it 
is  intended  ;  and  depends,  as  already  described,  upon  the  relative 
diameters  of  the  wheel  and  pinion  h  and  i,  of  the  throwstlng  ma- 
chine. 

The  silk  thus  thrown  is  called  hard  silk,  and  must  be  boiled, 
in  order  to  discharge  the  gum,  which  otherwise  renders  it  harsh  to 
the  touch,  and  unfit  to  receive  the  dye.  The  silk  is  for  about 
four  hours  in  a  plentiful  proportion  of  water,  into  which  a  quan- 
tity of  soap,  equal  to  about  one-third  of  the  weight  of  the  silk, 
has  been  placed;  this  assists  in  dissolving  the  gum,  and  in  ren- 
dering the  silk  soft  and  glossy. 

By  this  boiling,  the  silk,  which  has  already  in  the  previous 
operations  of  organziuing,  lost  in  the  proportion  of  from  five  to 
seven  and  a  half  out  of  each  one  hundred  pounds  of  its  weight, 
is  further  diminished  to  twelve,  and  sometimes  even  to  eleven 
and  a  half  ounces,  for  every  pound.  Considerate  carefulness  is 
called  for  in  this  operation,  to  prevent  injury  to  the  threads  from 
burning,  which  sometimes  will  occur,  and  occasion  material  loss 
to  the  manufacturer,  or  to  the  dyer,  to  whom  the  process  is  in- 
trusted. If  by  reason  of  the  viscid  gum  contained  in  the  silk, 
the  skeins  adhere  to  the  bottom  of  the  copper  in  which  they  are 


340  THROWSTING. 

boiled,  the  heat  is,  hy  that  means,  necessarily  intercepted  in  its 
passage  to  the  water,  and  accumulated  in  the  silk,  which  is,  in 
consequence,  partially  carbonized  and  spoiled.  Even  when  the 
injury  thus  occurring  to  the  staple  of  the  thread  is  less  apparent, 
it  frequently  discovers  itself  when  put  into  the  loom,  causing 
infinite  trouble  and  delay  to  the  weaver,  who  often,  in  such  a  case, 
cannot  weave,  in  a  working  of  twelve  hours,  more  than,  in  the 
absence  of  injury  to  the  silk,  he  would  have  woven  in  half  that 
time  ;  and  the  injury  to  him  is  therefore  one  of  very  serious  con- 
sequence. 

After  this  boiling,  the  silk  is  well  washed  in  a  current  of  clear 
water  to  discharge  the  soap ;  and  when  subsequently  dried,  al- 
though its  weight  is  so  sensibly  diminished,  its  bulk  is,  on  the 
contrary,  visibly  increased,  and  it  is  seen  to  have  acquired  that 
peculiar  glossiness  and  softness  of  texture  which  form  its  princi- 
pal and  characteristic  beauty. 

The  gum  which  has  been  now  discharged  served  the  useful 
purpose  of  causing  the  adhesion  of  the  fibres,  as  originally  wound 
from  the  cocoons.  This  end  is  now  more  effectually  attained  by 
the  twist  the  thread  has  received  in  the  throwing  mill ;  and  the 
gum  would  henceforth  be  considered  as  a  foreign  matter,  impair- 
ing the  beauty  and  destroying  the  flexibility  of  its  texture. 
Were  the  boiling  performed  before  the  twisting,  this  operation 
would  scarcely  be  at  all  completed,  and  at  best  only  an  entangled 
wooly  or  downy  substance  would  be  obtained,  wholly  unfit  for 
manufacturing  purposes.  Before  a  thread  of  useful  texture  could 
be  then  got,  the  silk  would  require  to  be  spun  by  some  process 
similar  to  that  followed  with  cotton  or  wool,  or  such  indeed  as  is 
necessary  with  the  waste  silk,  drawn  from  the  cocoons  in  the 
first  operation  of  reeling,  and  with  those  cocoons  which  are  in- 
jured or  reserved  for  breeding,  and  which  it  is  found  diflicult  or 
impossible  to  wind  in  the  filature. 

It  has  always  been  asserted,  and,  if  the  assertion  be  correct,  it 
's  a  curious  fact,  that,  notwithstanding  the  great  advantage  of  su- 
perior machinery,  the  English  throwster  is  unable  to  produce 
organzine  silk  equal  in  quality,  and  at  as  small  an  expense,  or 
with  as  little  waste,  as  that  prepared  in  Italy.  It  was  long  held, 
and  is  still  believed  by  many,  that  the  Italian  throwster,  who  is 
also  most  usually  a  dealer  in  silk,  reserves  the  finest  qualities  for 
his  own  operations ;  and  exports  only  that  which  is  inferior. 
Supposing,  however,  that  the  difference  in  the  value  of  the  thrown 
silk  is  such  as  is  stated,  it  is  perhaps  nearer  to  the  truth  to  be- 
lieve that  the  climate  may  influence  the  quality  of  a  substance  so 
delicate,  since  it  is  well  known  that,  during  certain  states  of  the 
atmosphere,  the  throwing  of  silk  is  performed  in  England  at  a 
comparative  disadvantage.  Or,  it  may  be,  that  the  fibre  of  the 
silk  is  injuriously  affected  by  its  being  packed  before  twisting,  or 
liy  the  lengthened  voyage  to  wliich  it  is  subjected  in  its  transit  to 
that  country;  and  the  higher  estimation  uniformly  evinced  by 


TIIROWSTING.  341 

throwsters  for  silk  of  the  new  crop,  over  that  which  has  lain 
sometime  in  the  warehouse,  would  seem  to  indicate  another  cause 
for  the  alleged  superiority  of  Italian  org^anzine.  It  is  owing  to 
this  preference  of  foreign  thrown  silk,  that,  in  the  face  of  a  high 
protecting  dutv,  it  has  always  met  with  a  certain,  though  limited 
demand  from  the  English  weaver. 

We  find  in  the  Congressional  reports  (Doc.  No.  158)  a  notice 
of  Messrs.  Terhoven,  brothers,  of  Philadelphia  Coui'ty,  who  have 
recently  invented  a  simple  and  ingenious  machine  for  winding 
silk  from  cocoons,  and  for  doubling  and  twisting  the  thread  at  the 
same  time.  These  operations,  it  is  believed,  have  never  before 
been  united  in  the  same  machine.  It  answers  the  object  intended 
perfectly.  A  fringe  weaver,  who  has  seen  the  silk  thread  finished 
on  this  machine,  pronounced  it  equal  to  any  imported.  The  in- 
ventors have  received  a  medal  worth  twenty  dollars  from  Scot- 
land for  this  invention. 

An  improved  engine  for  tramming  silk,  by  U.  V.  Spenton  of 
Winchester,  (Eng.,)  as  taken  from  the  London  transactions  of 
the  Society  of  Arts,  vol.  41,  page  169,  1823;  for  which  a  silver 
medal  was  granted,  and  one  of  which  machines  is  now  in  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  Washington,  is  thus 
described. 

The  delivering  bobbins  (varying  from  two  to  four,  according 
to  the  thickness  of  the  component  thread)  are  placed  upon  as 
many  vertical  spindles,  the  vertical  position  allowing  the  threads 
to  quit  the  bobbins  without  any  motion  or  revolution  of  the 
bobbins  themselves.  Some  way  above  the  bobbins,  the 
threads  pass  singly  between  two  horizontal  slips  of  cloth  or 
felt,  which  by  their  friction,  give,  at  the  same  time,  a  certain 
degree  of  tension  to  the  threads,  and  clear  them  from  any  dust  or 
other  light  matter.  Each  thread  then  passes  through  the  eye  of 
its  own  drop-wire,  whence  they  all  converge  and  unite  in  the  eye 
of  the  guider,  from  which  the  compound  thread  is  distributed  on 
the  surface  of  the  receiving-bobbin  as  it  revolves.  Each  drop- 
wire  consists  of  a  piece  of  wire  turned  up,  so  as  to  form  a  righ: 
angle,  of  which  the  vertical  leg  is  about  two  inches  long,  and  is 
terminated  by  an  eye  through  which  the  thread  passes;  and  the 
horizontal  leg  is  about  four  inches  lonj,  terminating  likewise  in 
an  eye,  through  which  passes  a  pin,  connecting  all  the  four  drop- 
wires,  and  forming  a  pivot,  on  which  each  is  capable  of  moving 
freely.  Each  thread,  in  passing  through  the  eye  of  its  drop-wire, 
slips  down  a  little,  and,  being  in  a  state  of  moderate  tension,  sup- 
ports it  at  the  elevation  of  half  an  inch  or  more  above  the  position 
to  which  it  would  otherwise  descend.  When,  therefore,  a  thread 
breaks,  its  drop-wire  immediately  falls  and  strikes  on  the  edge 
of  a  wire  frame,  moving  on  a  horizontal  pivot,  and  so  adjusted 
that  the  weight  of  the  drop-wire  immediately  inclines  downwards 
that  side  which  it  touches,  and  consequently  raises  the  opposite 
side.  To  this  opposite  side  a  tail  of  wire  is  attached,  which, 
29* 


342  DYEING. 

when  raised,  catches  on  a  kind  of  racket-wheel,  fixed  on  the  same 
spindle  as  the  receiving  bobbin,  and  consequently  stops  it.  The 
broken  thread  being-  repaired,  is  again  passe«[  through  the  eye  of 
the  drop-wire,  and  supports  it  above  the  frame;  the  opposite  ends 
of  the  frame  then  become  preponderant;  the  tail,  or  stop, 
descends  out  of  the  way  of  the  racket-wheel,  and  the  revolution 
of  the  receiving  bobbin  immediately  recommences. 

This  apparrtus  is  very  simple  and  efficacious,  but  is  liable  to 
two  inconveniences  :  first,  that  the  thread  usually  breaks  close  to 
the  pieces  of  cloth  by  which  it  is  compressed,  and  some  trouble 
and  loss  of  time  are  occasioned  in  drawing  the  threads  out  pre- 
vious to  tying  it:  secondly,  that,  when  a  smaller  number  of 
threads  than  four  are  trammed,  the  vacant  drop-wires  must  be  re- 
moved, otherwise  their  unsupported  weight  would,  as  above 
described,  throw  up  the  stop,  and  prevent  tlie  revolution  of  the 
receiving  bobbins. 

The  specimen  of  this  loom,  as  above  mentioned,  being  deposited, 
we  presume,  for  public  inspection,  and  to  afford  drawings  and 
models,  renders  it  unnecessary  to  give  here  any  illustration  by 
cuts  or  diagrams,  none  such  being  sufficient  to  fully  meet  the 
practical  operator,  and  to  such  only  could  it  be  useful. 


CHAPTER  II. 


DYEING. 


[Infhe  following  pages  vpcin  iye'ing,  &c,,  every  word  is  left  out 
whose  omission  would  not  render  the  sense  obscure.] 

To  CLEANSE  AND  UNGUM  SILK. — This  operation  consists  in 
depriving  silk  of  the  principles  which  affect  its  whiteness.  When 
the  silk  is  made  up  into  hanks,  as  is  elsewhere  described,  dis- 
solve 15lbs.  soap  for  100  lbs.  silk.  Cut  the  soap  in  small  pieces 
to  promote  its  solution.  Fill  a  kettle  with  pure  fresh  water,  free 
from  calcareous  impregnation,  and  in  proper  quantities.  The  pro- 
portions are,  7  or  8  lbs.  water  to  1  lb.  silk;  ^'„  or  j\  is  sufficient 
for  most  colours.  For  yellow  unbleached  silks  add  50  or  60  per 
cent.,  for  unbleached  white  silks  25  per  cent.,  of  soap.  Close 
the  furnace  door,  with  a  few  live  coals  in  it,  to  keep  the  bath  hot, 
but  7iot  boiling  in  no  case,  as  it  would  injure  the  lustre  of  its  tex- 
ture. Put  the  hanks  of  silk  into  this  bath,  hanging  on  sticks  or 
pegs,  and  changing  them  till  they  are  ungummed,as  may  be  seen 
by  the  flexibility  of  the  silk  when  deprived  of  its  gum.  This 
silk  is  to  be  wrung  upon  pins,  to  remove  the  soap,  dressed  and 
shaken  upon  pins  and  the  hands,  run  a  cord  through  the  hanks^ 


DYEING.  343 

8  or  10  on  a  line.  Place  these  hanks  in  a  bag  closed  at  both  ends 
and  open  in  side.  When  in,  sew  up  the  side,  each  hag  with  about 
30  lbs.  silk.  These  bag's  must  now  be  boiled  a  of  an  hour,  in 
fresh  soap  and  water,  checking  it  when  boiling  over  with  cold 
water,  and  stirring  the  bags  to  keep  them  from  burning.  The  silk 
thus  operated  upon  is  intended  to  remain  white. 

White  Silk,  or  boilin<j;  si/k  to  be  dyed  ivhite. — There  are  five 
parts  or  shades  of  white  silk,  called  in  China,  Indian  ichite.  Paste 
white,  Milky  ivhite.  Silver  ivhite,  and  JjIuc  Azure  white.  These 
are  distinguishable  by  the  eye,  the  three  first  are  boiled  and  un- 
gumnted,  as  above;  to  the  two  latter  azure  blue  is  added  in  the 
ungumming.  This  azure  blue  is  thus  made;  wash  5  oz.  indigo 
thrice  in  moderately  hot  water,  pound  it  in  a  mortar,  and  pour  boil- 
ing water  over  it.  Leave  it  to  settle;  when  it  subsides  decant 
the  clear  liquid  carefully  for  use.  This,  by  dyers,  is  termed  azure. 

The  silk  is  now  prepared,  as  in  the  last  instance,  for  white. 
When  to  be  dyed  : — 

In  a  large  kettle  filled  with  clear  water,  of  30  buckets,  put  H 
lbs.  of  soap ;  boil  when  the  soap  is  dissolved,  put  the  silk  in  the 
kettle  over  rods,  passing  through  it  and  resting  on  its  brim.  For 
China  white  add  a  little  annotto  to  the  baths  for  a  reddish  tint. 
The  silk  should  be  turned  on  the  rods,  the  end  being  in  the  liquor, 
and  every  part  an  equal  time  in  the  watery  solution.  For  Indian 
white  add  a  little  azure;  also  for  the  other  whites  add  azure,  in 
proportion  as  the  shades  require.  Four  or  five  dippings  will 
complete  the  work.  The  silk  is  to  be  wrung  upon  pegs,  suspend- 
ed to  dry,  and  fumigated  if  required. 

Sulphuring. — The  silk  in  this  operation  should  be  extended 
on  poles  7  or  8  feet  from  the  floor,  in  a  high  apartment.  For 
every  100  lbs.  of  silk  1^  or  2  lbs.  of  roll  brimstone  is  used.  It  is 
put  into  an  earthen  pan,  covered  at  bottom  with  a  layer  of  ashes. 
The  rolls,  coarsely  pounded,  are  to  be  placed  on  the  ashes  and 
lighted.  The  apartment  is  then  well  closed,  the  chimney,  if  there 
be  one,  well  stopped,  and  the  brimstone  left  burning  daring  the 
night.  The  next  day  ventilate  the  room,  and  with  the  doors  and 
windows  open  dry  the  silk.  In  winter  a  dish  of  charcoal  to  dry 
the  silk  should  be  used,  the  room  being  closed. 

To  BOIL  SILKS  WHICH  ARE  TO  BE  DYED. — For  common  colours 
put  20  lbs.  of  soap  to  100  lbs.  silk,  and  proceed  as  before,  except 
hat  as  the  silk  is  not  to  be  ungummed  the  boiling  may  continue 
3A  hours,  filling  up  from  time  to  time  with  water.  When  the 
dye  is  to  be  blue,  or  green,  yellow,  or  other  colours,  30  lbs.  of  soap 
per  100  lbs.  of  silk  are  necessary,  and  the  boiling,  as  before,  to  be 
in  4  hours,  and  then  taken  out.  The  bag,  being  taken  out,  is  laid 
on  a  frame,  and  ripped,  the  silk  taken  therefrom  ;  if  the  liquid  has 
not  sufficiently  penetrated,  known  by  slimy  appearances,  it  should 
be  again  put  in,  and  boiled  some  hours.  The  silk  loses  -}  in  boiling. 

Aluming. — After  washing  and  beetling  the  silk,  to  divest  it  of 
the  soap,  a  line  is  put  through  them  as  when  put  to  boil.     They 


344  DYEING. 

are  then  put  into  the  alum,  taking  rare  tliat  each  hank  is  properly 
exposed  to  the  alum  water,  and  kept  well  under.  They  must  re- 
main there  8  or  9  hours,  from  night  till  morning,  then  washed  and 
wrung  with  the  hand  over  the  vessel,  and  washed  in  a  river  or 
other  bath  of  clear  water,  and  beetled  when  necessary.  A  cask  of 
40  or  50  bucketsful  should  have  40  lbs.  of  alum,  first  dissolved 
in  hot  water,  and  poured  in  and  well  stirred  to  mix  it.  Put  into 
this  150  lbs.  silk.  If  it  be  too  weak  add  25  lbs.  more  alum  dis- 
solved with  the  same  precautions.  The  alum  is  increased,  and 
more  silk  is  added  until  the  bath  begins  to  smell  bad.  Steep  the 
silks  intended  for  dark  colours  and  draw  off;  then  clean  the  bath 
for  a  new  operation.  This  aluming  is  the  "  soul  of  dyeing."  If 
the  alum  contains  iron,  which  may  be  known  by  dissolving  a  few 
drops  of  the  solution  of  the  prussiate  of  potash,  when  a  blue  pre- 
cipitate will  take  place,  then  dissolve  tlie  alum  for  10  or  15  days, 
in  shallow  vessels  in  the  air,  when  the  iron  becoming  oxidated,  it 
will  separate  in  the  form  of  rust.  Filter  the  solution,  evaporate 
the  water  and  recrystallize  it. 

The  indigo  blue  tub. — For  8  lbs.  of  indigo  take  6  lbs.  of  the 
best  potash,  and  for  each  pound  of  potash  3  to  4  ounces  of  mad- 
der and  8  lbs.  of  bran,  watered  several  times  to  take  off  its  flour, 
and  when  washed  well  pressed  to  take  off  the  water.  Set  it  by 
itself  on  the  tub  bottom;  boil  the  potash  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  in 
a  kettle  two-thirds  full.  Then  leave  it  to  settle  and  put  out  the 
fire.  Two  or  three  days  previously  to  this  8  lbs.  of  indigo  sliould 
have  been  steeped  in  a  bucket  of  hot  water;  in  this  it  should  be 
carefully  washed,  changing  the  water,  which  assumes  a  reddish 
colour.  This  is  the  bath  usually  made  by  silk  dyers.  Put  into 
this  dye  the  silk  or  stuff,  the  shades  of  which  are  to  be  deepest. 
The  colour  will  be  deeper  the  longer  it  remains,  until  the  liquor 
becomes  weak.  The  tub  for  the  above  quantity  of  indigo  must  be 
5  feet  deep  and  2^  in  diameter  at  the  mouth,  and  1^  foot  at  the 
base. 

Crimson Silks  to  be  dyed  in  crimson  with  cochineal,  should 

be  boiled  in  20  lbs.  soap  to  100  lbs.  of  silk.  Wash  and  beetle 
the  silk  at  a  stream,  to  take  out  the  soap  ;  put  it  in  an  alum  so- 
lution in  its  full  strength,  from  night  till  morning,  (7  or  8  hours.) 
"Wash  the  silks  and  twice  beetle  them  at  a  stream.  A  previously 
prepared  bath  or  trough  filled  with  river  water,  about  ^  or  .f,  and 
when  boiling  add  some  powdered  nut  galls;  boil  on  for  a  little 
while;  then  add  4  drachms  to  2  ounces  of  the  nut  galls  to  every 
pound  of  silk.  If  the  galls  are  finely  powdered  and  sifted  they 
may  be  put  in  with  the  cochineal.  The  silk  is  then  washed, 
beetled,  and  spread  upon  sticks  by  hanks,  thick,  because  crimson 
colour  is  not  subject  to  be  unequally  set.  The  cochineal,  pound- 
ed and  sifted,  is  now  thrown  into  the  bath,  and  well  stirred,  and 
must  have  5  or  6  boils.  From  2  to  3  ounces  to  each  pound  of 
silk  is  put  in  according  to  the  shade.  The  proportion  of  cochi- 
neal is  2^  ounces,  never  more  than  3  ounces.     These  ingredients 


DYEING.  345 

are  put  into  a  ptire  tin  vessel,  (not  into  copper  or  brass  tinned.) 
The  cochineal  and  galls  are  boiled,  put  into  a  bath,  and  for  every 

1  lb.  cochineal,  1  oz.  of  a  solution  of  tin  in  aqua  regia,  called  com- 
position,  is  used.     This  composition  is  made  with  1  lb.  sp.  nitre, 

2  oz.  sal  ammoniac,  and  6  oz.  of  grain  tin.  The  two  latter  are 
placed  in  a  sand  stone  pot,  upon  which  pour  12  oz.  water,  and 
then  add  the  sp.  nitre.  One  ounce  of  this  composition  to  1  lb.  of 
silk  is  used.  The  galls  and  cochineal  being  boiled,  the  kettle  is 
left  to  cool.  The  silk  is  put  into  the  tub  to  be  steeped  from  5  to  7 
times.  After  this  the  bath  must  boil  2  hours,  steeping  the  silks 
towards  the  end  of  this  time.  Now  withdraw  the  fire,  and  wholly 
immerse  the  silks,  leaving  them  to  remain  from  6  to  8  hours.  The 
silk  is  now  to  be  washed  and  to  get  two  beetlings,  and  be  wrung 
and  dried.  Chaptal  says,  by  giving  silk  a  ground  of  yellow,  be- 
fore dyeing  as  above,  a  poppy  or  flame  colour  may  be  obtained 
as  handsome  and  more  economical  than  that  produced  from  the 
carthamus  or  bastard  saffron. 

Green.  This  colour,  composed  of  yellow  and  blue,  is  diffi- 
cult to  give  to  silk,  because,  in  place  of  applying  the  yellow  upon 
the  blue,  w^e  give  the  blue  upon  the  yellow. 

The  silk,  which  is  boiled  as  for  common  colours,  must  be  well 
alumed ;  then  cooled  in  a  stream  ;  the  silk  is  then  distributed  in 
little  hanks  of  4  or  5  ounces,  to  make  the  dye  uniform.  Weld,* 
the  Reseda  Ltiteola,  is  to  be  boiled  as  for  the  yellow,  and  a  bath 
of  it  prepared  with  clear  water,  so  strong  as  to  give  a  good 
ground  of  yellow  colour.  Dip  the  silk  in  this  bath  with  great 
care,  so  that  the  colour  shall  be  equal,  and  a  perceptible  green. 
"When  the  ground  (colour)  is  nearly  at  its  height,  some  shreds 
of  silks  should  be  dipped,  in  order  to  see  whether  the  colours 
have  a  fulness  of  ground.  If  enough,  and  the  decoction  of  weld, 
and  make  a  new  trial.  When  the  colour  takes,  wring  the  silk, 
cool  in  a  stream,  and  beetle.  The  silk  is  then  to  be  dressed, 
reformed  into  hanks  for  the  tub,  steeped,  hank  by  hank,  in  a  cold 
blue  vat,  and  finally  wrung  and  dried  with  care  and  speed.  The 
15  or  16  clearest  shades  of  this  kind  of  green  need  only  be 
steeped  in  the  tub  in  order  to  be  entirely  completed. 

For  deeper  greens,  or  to  vary  the  shades,  add  to  the  weld  a 
decoction  of  logwood,  or  of  old  fustic,  or  of  annotto.  A  little 
copperas  is  added  to  produce  very  deep  greens.  The  apple  and 
sea-green  require  a  light  yellow. 

Lilac,  a  very  light  and  brilliant  tint  of  the  violet,  or  of  the 
purple,  should  receive  the  blue  with  caution,  and  sparingly.  If 
the  baths  are  too  strong,  mix  fresh  water  with  some  potash  in 
clear,  cold  water,  to  prepare  a  bath  for  blueing  and  greening  the 
lilacs  at  will.     When  the  bath  is  prepared,  stir  it  up.     Then  it 

*  The  weld  plant  should  be  cultivated  by  our  farmers :  no  crop  will 
pay  better. 


346  DYEING. 

assumes  a  green  colour,  which  imperceptibly  diminishes.  When 
the  bath  begins  to  lose  its  first  green  colour,  and  appear  like  in- 
digo, put  in  the  silk.  The  potash  gives  the  red  more  of  a  violet 
tint. 

Violet  with  Logwood.  Take  dyed  silks,  alumed  and  washed 
in  the  usual  way  ;  boil  logwood  chips  in  water.  It  will  give 
blue,  if  made  cold.  When  the  logwood  is  warm,  the  colour  is 
spotted,  unequal,  and  less  beautiful.  This  decoction  will  not 
last  more  than  three  weeks  or  a  month. 

If  the  alumed  silk  be  steeped  in  a  bath  of  Brazil  wood,  it  may 
be  dyed  with  the  usual  heat :  after  tiiis,  a  decoction  of  logwood 
may  be  added,  and  the  silk  immersed  ;  in  this  case,  the  bath 
may  be  warm,  which  it  must  not  be  if  the  silk  had  not  first  been 
steeped  in  the  first  decoction.  The  potash  is  sometimes  substi- 
tuted with  a  bath  of  alum  in  clear  water,  for  the  alteration  of  the 
tint — always  when  the  silks  are  loo  much  charged  with  the  dye, 
by  being  too  long  in  the  bath. 

Violet  with  Brazil  wood  and  Archil.  After  boiling  and 
impregnating  the  silk  with  the  alum  water,  put  it  into  a  vat,  more  or 
less  clear,  of  Brazil  wood,  according  to  the  shade  intended  to  be 
given.  When  taken  out,  the  silk  is  beetled  in  a  stream  of  clear 
water,  then  put  into  the  bath  of  archil  to  complete  the  colour;  is 
washed  a  second  time,  and  beetled.  It  is  tlien  put  into  the  tub, 
wrung,  dried  quickly,  as  in  the  case  of  greens  and  blues. 

Yellow.  Alum,  3  oz.  to  1  lb.  of  silk  ;  sugar  of  lead,  1  oz. 
to  1  lb.  of  alum  ;  fustic,  1  lb.  to  1  of  silk  ;  water,  2  gallons,  as 
the  shade  may  require.  Immerse  the  silk  over  night  in  a  solution 
of  alum  and  sugar  of  lead  ;  wring  and  dye  it  in  the  fustic. 
Chaptal  says,  that  silk  intended  for  yellow  colour  is  boiled  with 
22  lbs.  1  oz.  1  dr.  of  soap  to  110  lbs.  5  oz.  10  drs.  of  silk;  it  is 
afterwards  washed,  alumed,  and  put  on  the  rods. 

The  yellow  bath  is  prepared  by  boiling  2  lbs.  3  oz.  5  drs.  of 
weld  to  the  pound  of  silk,  }  of  an  hour.  Strain  this  decoction 
through  a  sieve  ;  cool  till  the  hand  can  be  kept  in  it,  then  im- 
merse the  silk.  This  process  is  repeated,  and  more  silk  iuimersed, 
till  the  strength  of  the  dye  is  exhausted. 

To  extract  all  the  virtues  of  the  weld,  and  impart  a  golden  hue 
to  the  yellow  produced  by  it,  1  lb.  1  oz.  4  drs.  potash  to  22  lbs. 
1  oz.  2  drs.  silk  are  put  in  the  vat.  The  second  bath  of  weld  is 
poured  boiling  hot  on  these,  and  well  stirred  to  hasten  the  solu- 
tion. When  the  bath  becomes  clear,  decant  a  part  of  it  to  the 
first  bath,  and  again  immerse  the  silk.  A  golden  hue  may  be 
imparted  to  the  yellow  by  means  of  annotto. 

Yellow  on  silk  in  hanks.  Silk  to  be  dyed,  is  boiled  in  the 
proportion  of  20  lbs.  soap  to  100  lbs.  silk.  When  boiled,  it  is 
put  into  the  alum  water  and  again  washed,  (called  refreshed,) 
and  dressed,  then  placed  upon  rods,  in  hanks  of  7  or  8  ounces 
each,  and  steeped  in  the  yellow  bath. 


DYEING.  347 

For  dyeing  clear  )'ello\v,  {jaune  franc,)  or  yellow  in  ^ain, 
weld  only  is  commonly  used. 

Put  into  a  kettle  2  lbs.  weld  to  1  lb.  of  silk.  Boil  a  hour,  the 
weld  on  blocks  of  wood,  to  mix  well  with  the  water;  strain; 
cool  till  the  hand  can  bear  it ;  put  in  the  silk  ;  work  it  well  till 
the  colour  is  uniform.  Keep  the  barque  full,  and  the  added  water 
of  a  proper  temperature  ;  (all  lonpr  troughs  should  be  kept  full ;) 
the  silk  is  now  immersed  :  while  this  goes  on,  weld  is  boiled 
a  second  time  in  new  water.  Take  out  the  silk ;  empty  the 
trough  one-half;  fill  it  up  again  with  the  new  decoction,  in 
quantity  equal  to  what  was  abstracted  ;  stir  up  the  bath,  to  mix 
the  liquid ;  this  is  kept  hotter  than  the  first,  but  moderate,  lest 
part  of  the  colour  taken  by  the  silk  should  be  destroyed.  Steep 
in  this  new  bath  the  silk  :  during  which,  dissolve  potash  in  pro- 
portion of  1  lb.  to  20  of  silk.  Put  the  potash  into  a  small  kettle, 
pour  into  it  some  of  the  2d  weld  liquor,  boiling  hot,  stirring  up 
the  potash.  When  this  has  settled,  and  is  clear,  lift  out,  a  2d  time, 
the  silks  ;  put  them  on  the  frames;  throw  into  the  bath  two  or 
three  ladlesful  of  the  clear  potash  water.  Stir  well,  dip  the 
silks  again,  and  wash  anew.  After  seven  or  eight  washes,  ex- 
amine to  see  if  the  colour  be  a  proper  one.  If  not,  add  to  the 
bath  a  little  potash  ;  and  proceed  as  before,  till  the  colour  is  of 
the  desired  shade. 

To  make  a  yellow,  approaching  to  that  of  a  jonquille,  with 
the  potash,  put  into  the  bath  a  little  annotto. 

Poppv.  The  poppy  colour  is  procured  by  precipitating  the  red 
of  bastard  saff"ron  held  in  solution  by  potash.  With  this  view, 
when  silks  are  washed,  drained,  and  put  on  the  rods,  lime  juice 
is  poured  into  the  bath  till  it  acquire  a  cherry  colour.  It  is  then 
stirred,  and  well  worked,  until  it  has  acquired  a  sufficient  colour. 

To  produce  a  lively,  full  poppy,  the  silk  is  wrung  on  coming 
out  of  the  first  bath,  which  it  exhausts,  and  is  then  put  into  the 
second.  Five  or  six  baths  are  requisite  to  impart  to  it  a  flame 
colour.  The  poppy  colour  is  heightened  by  putting  the  silk 
through  tepid  water,  acidulated  with  lime  juice.  A  ground  of 
annotto,  3  or  4  shades  paler  than  aurora,  is  requisite  for  silks,  be- 
fore exposing  them  to  the  colouring  principle  of  the  carthamus 
plant. 

Black.  Chaptal's  directions  to  dye  raw  silk  (soie  crue)  which 
has  been  reeled  off  dry. 

The  silk  bein?  cleansed,  is  to  be  bleached,  by  being  sulphured 
or  charged  with  sulphureous  acid;  then  washed  and  passed 
water  saturated  with  a  little  soap ;  then  take  |  the  weight  of 
silk  of  gall  nuts;  make  a  strong  decoction  of  them;  boil  the  silk 
therein  for  a  short  time  ;  let  it  remain  in  the  vat  3G  hours  ;  wash 
and  wring  it.  The  silk  is  so  saturated  with  tannin,  that  100  lbs. 
of  silk  thus  galled  will  weigh  135  lbs.  Put  in  this  bath,  sul- 
phate of  iron  and  gum,  according  to  the  quantity  to  be  dyed  ; 
heat  it ;  dip  the  silk  therein,  and  when  deeply  black,  put  it  in  a 


348  DYEING. 

trough  of  cold  water ;  turn  it  on  a  roller,  that  all  parts  may  be 
equally  exposed  ;  then  pass  it  throuqrh  cold  soap  suds.  Dyers 
have  a  tub  on  purpose  for  black,  and  when  the  dyeing  composition 
is  exhausted,  they  renew  by  a  refresher,  (brevet.)  When  the 
deposit  is  considerable,  it  is  taken  out,  and  iron  filings  added  to 
the  liquid.  The  dyeing  of  the  silk  is  finished  by  heating  the 
cauldron  containing  the  dye,  occasionally  stirring  it,  to  prevent 
the  sediment  from  heating  too  much. 

The  liquor  must  not  boil :  add  more  or  less  gum  and  iron  solu- 
tion. When  the  gum  is  dissolved,  and  the  liquid  nearly  boils, 
it  is  left  for  one  hour,  the  silk,  divided  into  three  portions,  is  then 
immersed  successively.  The  silk  is  slightly  wrung,  and  aired 
three  times.  The  great  point  is,  to  press  out  the  liquor  with 
which  the  silk  is  impregnated,  and  wlien  to  fill  it  again  there- 
with ;  but  above  all,  to  air  it  well,  as  that  deepens  the  colour. 
After  the  three  wringings,  the  vat  is  to  be  heated,  and  more  gum 
and  copperas  added.  The  reheating  the  vat  is  called  giving  afire. 
Two  fires  are  commonly  given  for  a  light  black,  and  three  for  a 
deep  dye.  Sometimes  the  silk  is  left  in  the  vat,  after  the  last  fire, 
for  12  hours.  Commonly  30  kilogrammes  (66  lbs.  3  oz.  6  drs.)  of 
silk  are  dyed  in  one  operation.  This  is  technically  called  a  heat. 
One  fire  only  is  required  for  half  the  quantity.  When  the  dyeing 
is  finished,  the  silk  is  rinsed  on  the  rods  sec,  art. 

When  the  silk  is  dyed,  it  must  be  softened,  by  immersing  it 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  soap  and  water,  in  the  proportion  of 
from  2  to  3  lbs.  of  soap  to  100  lbs.  of  silk,  and  then  dried. 

Chaptal  says,  a  full,  clear,  permanent  black  may  be  obtained 
by  using  a  solution  of  iron  immediately  after  a  strong  galling. 
The  stuff  is  immersed  in  a  decoction  of  logwood,  and  next  into 
this  decoction,  conjoined  with  a  solution  of  iron  and  verdigris, 
and  this  to  be  repeated  till  the  colour  is  very  beautiful.  With 
this  view,  110  lbs.  5  oz.  10  drs.  of  silk,  44  lbs.  2  oz.  4  drs.  of 
nutgalls,  06  lbs.  3  oz.  6  drs.  of  sulphate  of  iron,  calcined  to  red- 
ness, the  same  quantity  of  logwood,  and  11  lbs.  9  drs.  of  verdi- 
gris, were  employed. 

The  silk  is  to  be  first  wrung  out  of  the  galls ;  allowed  to  dry, 
and  then  strongly  shaken  by  the  hands,  in  order  to  ventilate  and 
detach  it  from  the  galls. 

The  same  process  of  rubbing,  shaking,  &c.,  is  to  be  employed 
in  respect  to  the  logwood  bath  ;  and  the  silk  is  to  be  carefully 
washed  after  each  immersion  in  the  solution  of  sulphate  of  iron. 
Ivn  the  last  logwood  bath,  is  to  be  dissolved  2  oz.  15  drs.  of  gum 
arable,  to  1  lb.  4  oz.  4  drs.  of  silk.  The  black  is  softened  by 
passing  the  dyed  silk  through  soap  and  water.  By  combining 
vegetable  astringents  with  the  nutgalls,  a  softer  and  more  agree- 
able colour  was  produced.  Oak  bark,  a  species  of  agaric,  pome- 
grate  bark,  &c.,  may  be  employed  for  this  purpose. 

Blue.     By  Mons.  Raymond. 

When  the  silk  has  been  cleansed,  immerse  it  \  of  an  hour  at 


DYEING.  349 

the  ordinary  temperature  in  water  containing  -^  of  its  weight 
of  the  sulphate  of  the  peroxide  of  iron.  Wash  ;  hold  it  for  A  an 
hour  in  a  bath,  nearl}'  boiling,  of  soap  and  water.  Wash  again  ; 
put  in  a  cold  weak  solution  of  prussiate  of  potash,  soured  by  sul- 
phuric, or  muriatic  acid.  As  soon  as  it  is  immersed  it  becomes 
blue.  In  ^  of  an  hour  wash  and  dye  it.  This  dye  becomes  dull 
in  the  sun,  but  will  regain  its  brilliancy  by  being  kept  in  the 
dark. 

Chaptal  says,  to  obtain  Turkish  blue,  the  deepest  of  all,  the 
silk  should  be  immersed  in  a  strong,  warm  bath  of  savary,  before 
putting  it  into  the  vat. 

To  obtain  the  Royal  blue,  also  a  deep  colour,  and  permanent, 
cochineal  is  employed  in  place  of  savary. 

This  last  blue  may  be  successfully  imitated,  by  first  immersing 
the  silk  in  a  solution  of  loz.  7^  drs.  verdigris,  to  1  lb.  4  oz.  4 
drs.  of  silk.  The  silk  is  afterwards  disposed  in  a  bath  of  log- 
wood, in  which  it  assumes  a  blue  colour,  which  is  fixed  by  pass- 
ing it  through  the  vat. 

Silk  to  be  dyed  bl\ie,  is  usually  boiled  in  a  bath  of  44  lbs.  2  oz. 
4  drs.  soap,  to  110  lbs.  5  oz.  10  drs.  silk.  It  is  carefully  washed, 
and  twice  put  through  running  water;  afterwards  made  into 
skeins ;  plung-ed  into  the  vat  by  means  of  the  wooden  roller  until 
it  has  acquired  the  desired  shade.  It  is  then  wrung,  shaken  in 
the  air,  washed,  again  wrung,  and  hung  up  to  dry. 

When  silk  is  to  be  dyed  blue  without  boiling,  the  whitest 
kinds  are  chosen ;  they  are  dipped  in  water  that  they  more  readily 
imbibe  the  dye. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  A  GERMAX  TREATISE  ON  DYEING  SILK. 

[_T/ie  following  receipts  are  proportioned  to  10  lbs.  of  silk  boiled.'] 
A  HANDSOME  YELLOW.  Take  1}  lbs.  alum:  20  lbs.  St,  Mary's 
thistle  [the  carduus  Marie]  and  i  lb.  woad  ashes.  Dissolve 
the  alum  in  10  buckets  water;  pour  it  into  a  vat;  fix  the  silk 
upon  rods,  steep  it ;  work  it  well  an  hour;  wring  it;  lay  it  aside 
wet.  Into  10  buckets  water  in  a  kettle  add  the  carduus  Marie, 
boil  A  of  an  hour;  strain;  let  it  cool  to  suffer  your  hand  in  it; 
steep  the  silk  in  this  ;  work  well  half  an  hour;  wrins; ;  and  lay  it 
by  wet.  The  pails  with  the  alum  water,  as  well  as  those  with 
the  decoction,  must  be  filled  and  kept  full  during  the  working 
process  to  near  the  top.  In  filling  up,  or  supplying  the  evapora- 
tion, do  not  cool  it  below  what  your  hand  can  bear.  Put  the 
carduus  Marie  the  2d  time  into  the  kettle,  with  fresh  water; 
boil  again;  take  out  the  silk;  dip  out  some  of  the  liquor  in 
which  you  had  previously  worked  the  silk;  add  as  much  of  the 
2d  boiling  to  it;  stir  the  liquor  alwa)-s  before  you  steep  the 
silk  in  it ;  steep  the  silk  again,  and  work  it  well  for  half  an  hour ; 
keeping  up  a  higher  temperature  than  at  the  first  operation,  but 
not  too  hot,  or  it  will  injure  the  silk.  Now  dissolve  the  woad 
ashes  in  a  kettle,  pour  on  it  some  of  the  2d  liquor,  boiling  hot ; 
30 


350  BYEIN6. 

Stir  well,  and  then  let  it  settle ;  next  pour  tlie  clear  part  of  this 
solution  into  the  yellow  liquor,  first  taking  out  the  silk ;  stir 
well;  steep  the  silk  again,  and  work  it  well  15  minutes.  Then, 
or  sooner,  take  out  a  small  quantity  of  the  silk  ;  wring  it,  examine 
its  shade,  if  the  colour  is  not  good,  add  a  small  quantity  of  the 
solution  of  woad  ashes  to  this  liquor ;  steep  the  silk  again,  and 
let  it  be  well  worked  until  the  colour  is  obtained.  To  give  the 
silk  a  deep  golden  tint,  add  to  the  solution  of  woad  ashes  some 
annotto. 

Citron  yellow.  Take  1^  lbs.  alum,  8  lbs.  safflower;  Jib. 
alum. 

Dissolve  the  alum  in  10  buckets  of  water;  pour  the  solution 
into  a  vat ;  steep  the  silk  in  it ;  work  it  well  half  an  hour ;  wring, 
and  lay  it  by  wet.  Throw  away  the  alum  solution  as  useless, 
and  put  10  buckets  of  fresh  water  into  a  kettle;  add  8  lbs. 
safflower  and  }  lb.  alum ;  boil  for  half  an  hour,  strain  the  decoc- 
tion into  the  vat;  steep  the  silk  in  it;  work  it  well  }  of  an  hour; 
wring;  dry,  and  beat  it  well.  The  left  liquor  will  dye  a  pale 
yellow. 

Another  citron  yellow.  Take  IJ  lbs.  alum;  14  lbs.  saf- 
flower, and  }  lb.  alum. 

To  10  buckets  water  in  a  kettle,  add  1}  lbs.  alum;  dissolve; 
pour  into  the  vat;  work  the  silk  in  the  solution  ^  an  hour;  wring, 
and  lay  it  by  wet.  Next  pour  10  buckets  fresh  water  into  the 
kettle  ;  add  7  lbs.  safflower;  boil  ^  an  hour ;  strain  into  the  vat; 
work  it  well  for  15  min.;  wring,  and  dry  it.  The  yellow  liquor 
now  pour  back  into  the  kettle;  add  7  lbs.  safflower,  (remaining,) 
also  4  lb.  alum;  boil  the  whole  ^  an  hour;  strain  into  a  pail ; 
work  the  silk  well  in  this  i  hour ;  wring;  dry  and  beat  it  well. 

Citron  yellow  in  a  different  way.  Take  \\  lbs.  alum  ;  7  lbs 
French  berries. 

Dissolve  the  alum  in  8  buckets  water;  pour  this  into  a  vessel ; 
immerse  the  silk  in  it;  work  it  well  ^  an  hour;  lay  it  by  wet; 
and  throw  away  the  solution.  Then  boil  10  buckets  of  v^ater: 
put  into  it  the  French  berries;  boil  for  |  of  an  hour;  add  a  small 
quantity  of  alum  to  the  berries ;  strain  into  a  bucket;  immerse  it 
in  the  liquor;  work  well  ^  an  liour;  wring  well.  To  make  the 
colour  deeper  or  lighter,  add  or  diminish  the  Fr.  berries. 

Citron  yellow  another  way.  Take  2  lbs.  alum;  6  lbs. 
quercitron  bark,  ground. 

Alum  in  10  buckets  dissolved;  pour  it  into  the  vat;  immerse 
the  silk  in  it,  work  it  well  2  hours;  wring;  lay  it  aside  wet; 
throw  away  the  alum  water;  put  10  buckets  fresh  water  into  a 
kettle;  the  ground  quercitron  bark  into  it;  boil  one  hour;  strain 
into  a  pail;  immerse  in  this  liquor;  work  for  an  hour;  wring 
well;  dry.     Preserve  the  yellow  liquor. 

A  PALE  YELLOW.     Take  2  lbs.  alum. 

Prepare  as  above.  Then  warm  tlie  liquor  used  in  the  forego- 
ing operation ;  put  it  in  a  pail ;  immerse ;  work  well  half  an  hour ; 


DYEING.  351 

wring  well ;  wring  on  a  post ;  beat  it  well ;  and  it  will  be  glossy. 
It  need  not  be  rinsed. 

Citron  yellow.  Take  3  lbs.  alum,  and  1  lb.  3  oz.  quercitron 
bark.  Put  the  alum  in  a  kettle  with  10  buckets  of  water;  let  it 
dissolve;  pour  it  into  a  pail;  immerse  the  silk;  work  it  well  and 
longer  than  usual ;  wring ;  rinse,  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Now  put  10 
buckets  water  in  a  kettle;  warm  it;  put  the  quercitron  in  a 
bag ;  boil  until  the  strength  is  extracted ;  immerse  the  silk  in  it; 
work  it  well  ^  of  an  hour,  and  it  is  a  handsome  lively  citron. 

A  HIGH  VEXLow  COLOUR.  (10  Ibs.  sUk.)  Add  to  the  above 
yellow  lii'juor  a  few  ounces  soda,  according  to  the  deep  or  bright 
shades  desired ;  but  not  until  the  silk  is  completely  saturated 
with  the  liquor  of  quercitron. 

Orange.  (10  lbs.  silk.)  Add  to  the  above  liquor  at  the  same 
time  with  the  soda,  a  proportional  quantity  of  annotto,  and  work 
it  well  in. 

A  PALE  YELLOW,  Or  sfrow  coloiir. — Take  less  alum  and  quer- 
citron, and  dispense  altogether  with  the  soda  and  annotto. 

Buff. —  To  produce  the  many  different  shades  of  this  colour, 
proceed  with  the  quercitron  in  the  same  manner  as  directed  in  the 
dyeiniT  of  the  same  colours  with  turmeric  and  weld,  (dyer's  weed.) 
But  1  lb.  of  quercitron  will  equal  10  lbs.  of  either  the  turmeric 
or  weld. 

A  VERY  LIVELY  GLOSSY  YELLOW. — To  incrcasc  the  above  to  its 
most  lively  and  glossy  hue,  take  instead  of  the  alum,  a  solution 
of  tin  dissolved  in  a  mixture  of  3  parts  spirits  of  salts,  and  1  of 
nitric  acid.  Mix  this  with  20  times  its  own  volume  of  water, 
and  immerse  the  silk,  first  well  alumed.  Do  not  rinse.  It  may 
be  coloured  immediately.     The  solution  of  tin  may  be  preserved. 

A  TURKISH  BLUE. — Take  2^  oz.  cochineal ;  10  oz.  aquafortis; 
H  oz.  English  tin,  and  ^  lb.  alum.  The  silk  must  first  be 
coloured  in  a  keep,  to  a  medium  blue.  Then  place  in  a  kettle  10 
buckets  of  water,  into  which  put  2J  oz.  cochineal,  and  boil  it 
well  for  10  minutes.  During  the  above  process,  dissolve  the  tin 
in  the  aquafortis,  sec.  art.  Next  pour  the  solution  with  :^  lb.  of 
alum  into  the  said  kettle,  stir  well ;  immerse  the  silk,  work  it 
well  for  I  of  an  hour,  keeping  up  a  steady,  slow,  continued  boil. 
Then  take  it  out,  wring  and  beat  it  well  to  restore  it  to  its  natural 
gloss.  By  doubling  the  alum  and  substituting  ^  lb.  of  cream  of 
tartar,  the  aquafortis  may  be  dispensed  with. 

A  REAL  PINK.  Take  15  lbs.  of  safRower;  15  quarts  strong 
vinegar ;  %  oz.  oil  vitriol ;.  1  lb.  14  oz.  potash,  and  4  oz.  cream 
tartar. 

Put  the  15  lbs.  of  safflower  in  a  bag,  tie  it  tight,  immerse  it  48 
hours  in  running  water,  taking  it  out  every  6  hours  ;  tread  it  well 
with  your  feet,  and  continue  till  the  yellow  matter  is  worked  out 
of  it,  then  take  it  out,  put  it  in  a  pail,  and  pour  on  it  six  buckets 
of  river  water.  Next  put  1  li),  14  oz.  potash  in  a  crock  to  dis- 
solve it  in  water,  decant  the  clear  liquor  on  the  safilower  in  the 


352  DYEING. 

tub,  mix  well,  set  it  in  a  cool  place  for  G  hours.  After  this  take 
out  the  safflower  with  the  liquor ;  strain  in  a  pail,  put  in  this  half 
a  bucket  of  water  ;  press  it  out  to  extract  the  colourinjr  matter; 
pour  15  quarts  of  vineg-ar  and  'j  of  an  ounce  of  oil  vitriol  into  the 
liquor.  Next  take  10  lbs.  of  silk  on  rods;  put  it  into  this  mix- 
ture, work  it  well  for  4  hours.  Rinse  in  a  stream  ;  wring-  well, 
and  lay  it  aside  wet.  Lastly,  dissolve  4  oz.  cream  tartar  in  soft 
water;  decant  the  clear  part  of  this  into  a  tub,  with  8  buckets  of 
river  water.  Immerse  the  silk,  which  was  before  a  light  red,  in 
this  solution — work  it  well  }  of  an  hour.  Wring  and  dry  it.  For 
a  pink  of  a  higher  colour,  or  for  a  lighter,  take  vwre  or  less  saf- 
flower, and  add  a  small  quantity  of  vinegar. 

A  HIGH  COLOURED  CRIMSON.  Take  1}  lbs.  cochineal;  1  lb.  galls; 
4  oz.  cream  of  Tartar  ;  and  ^^  lbs.  Roman  alum.  Byreducin;^ 
the  quantity  of  cochineal  to  10  oz.  and  substituting  for  the  re- 
mainder 3  lbs.  of  persico,  or  cutbear,  the  colour  will  be  nearly  the 
same,  but  with  a  slight  bluish  cast. 

To  use  the  receipt  above,  dissolve  the  alum  in  10  buckets  of 
■water.  Decant  the  clear  liquor  into  the  vat,  and  immerse  the 
silk  in  it,  working  it  well  for  4  hours.  Rinse  in  a  stream  ;  wring, 
and  lay  it  by  wet.  Then  to  8  buckets  of  boiling  water,  add  1^  lbs. 
finely  powdered  cochineal,  1  lb.  do.  nutgalls,  and  4  oz,  cream  of 
tartar.  Boil  these  slowly  for  15  minutes,  cool  with  2  buckets  of 
water,  work  it  well  in  the  liquor,  the  boil  being  continued  for  IJ 
hours.     Rinse,  wring,  and  dry  it. 

A  HANDSOME  CRLMHON. — Take  3  lbs.  of  Roman  alum;  i  oz. 
argol,*  (cream  tartar,)  ^  lb.  East  India  galls  well  powdered ;  25 
oz.  cochineal. 

Put  8  buckets  rain  water,  lukewarm,  in  a  kettle,  into  this  3  lbs. 
Roman  alum  ;  dissolve;  put  the  solution  in  a  pail,  immerse  it; 
work  well  eight  hours;  wring  lightly,  and  lay  it  by  wet;  heat 
8  buckets  spring  water ;  just  boil  it ;  put  in  ^  oz.  argol  and  A  lb. 
powdered  galls;  boil  all  well  10  minutes;  strain  in  a  pail  ;  pour 
the  liq.  back  into  the  kettle;  put  in  25  oz.  cochineal  pulverized  ; 
boil  10  min.;  cool  with  ^  bucket  water;  immerse  the  silk  in  it; 
work  well  for  2  hours;  keep  boiling;  rinse;  wring  strongly, 
and  dry  it.  Take  10  buckets  water  in  a  kettle,  heat  it  just  to 
bear  your  hand  ;  work  well  for  ^  hour;  then  wring  it,  dry  it — 
done.     An  ounce  argol  may  be  used. 

A  DEEP  RED,  Take  1  lb.  fine  galls;  2^  lbs.  alum;  ^  lb.  com- 
position, and  5  lbs,  madder. 

Put  into  8  buckets  of  water  1  lb.  fine  galls ;  boil  15  minutes  ; 
take  it  out ;  run  it  through  a  sieve  into  a  vat :  steep  the  silk  in 
it;  work  it  well  for  2  hours;  take  it  out,  rinse,  and  dry  it, 
'J'hen  put  into  a  kettle  8  buckets  water,  2i  lbs.  of  alum,  and  i  lb. 
of  the  composition;  unite  them  in  the  water.     Pour  the  mixture 

*  Red  argol  is  the  tartar  from  red  wine;  white  argol  is  the  impure  de- 
posit from  white  wine.     Cream  of  tartar  is  pure  argol. 


DYEIXG.  353 

into  a  vat,  Steep  the  silk  in  it,  work  it  well  for  4  hours;  then 
take  it  out,  rinse,  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Lastly,  put  in  a  kettle  10 
buckets  water,  and  5  lbs.  madder.  Work  the  silk  well  in  this 
until  it  boils.     Rinse  and  dry  it. 

A  REAL  BROWN.  Take  6  oz.  annotto,  1  lb.  potash,  3  lbs.  alum  ; 
5  oz.  nutofalls  fine;  i  oz.  cream  tartar;  2  oz.  turmeric,  and  10 
oz.  cochineal. 

Boil  the  annotto  in  10  buckets  water,  and  put  it  with  1  lb.  of 
potash  into  a  kettle.  Boil  ^  of  an  hour ;  strain  the  liquor  into  a 
tub,  immerse  the  silk,  work  it  well  for  2  hours,  rinse,  wring-  and 
dry  it.  Next  to  8  buckets  water  add  3  lbs.  alum;  dissolve  it; 
put  the  solution  in  a  vat.  Steep  the  dried  y^ellow  silk,  work  it 
well  for  3  hours,  wring  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Now  prepare  a  kettle 
with  8  buckets  water.  Bring  it  to  boil.  Put  in  it  10  oz.  coch. ; 
boil  for  10  minutes,  cool  it  with  a  bucket  water.  Put  into  it  i 
lb.  cream  tartar,  and  2  oz.  turmeric.  Stir  well,  steep  the  silk, 
previously  alumed  ;  work  it  well  for  2  hours.  Rinse  in  running 
water,  wrinsr,  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Now  immerse  it  in  a  keep 
(dye  tub)  light  or  dark  to  your  taste.  The  liquor  of  logwood 
will  make  it  equally  handsome,  but  not  of  a  colour  so  lasting. 

A  REAL  CRIMSON,  another  way.  Take  2A  lbs.  Roman  alum;  2 
lbs.  fine  pulv'd.  galls  ;  1  lb.  -1  oz.  cochineal;  ^  lb.  argol,  and 
8  oz.  spirits  of  ammonia. 

Put  8  buckets  water  in  a  kettle;  into  that  2  lbs.  pulv'd.  galls; 
boil  ^  of  an  hour;  strain  into  a  pail ;  steep  the  silk  in  it;  work  it 
well  4  hours ;  rinse,  wring  and  dry  it.  Next  take  a  kettle  with 
8  buckets  water,  dissolve  2  lbs.  Roman  alum ;  pour  it  into  the 
vat,  steep  the  silk  in  it,  work  it  4  hours  in  same;  wring  it,  and 
lay  it  by  wet.  Lastly,  take  six  buckets  water  ;  pour  it  into  the 
kettle  ;  add  the  argol  and  the  sp.  ammonia  ;  boil  all  together  10 
min.;  cool  with  2  buckets  water;  work  the  silk  well  2  hours, 
keeping  it  boiling:  Then  suspend  it  on  rods  over  the  vat ;  pour 
the  liquor  from  the  kettle  into  it;  immerse  the  silk  in  this  liquor 
until  it  is  cool ;  rinse,  and  dry  it  in  the  shade. 

To  preserve  the  full  benefit  of  the  cochineal,  pour  the  used 
alum  liquor  into  it,  and  heat  it  again.  This  will  give  you  many 
lighter  shades,  from  the  rich  peach  blossom,  down  to  the  lightest 
lilac  colour.  You  may,  lastly,  take  silk  of  a  yellow  ground  and 
colour  it  in  it,  a  reddish  yellow. 

A  HANDSOME  RED.  Take  8  oz.  annotto  ;  H  lbs.  potash  ;  2^  lbs. 
alum  ;  6  lbs.  Brazil  wood ;  5  buckets  sharp  vinegar ;  and  6  oz. 
composition.      [This  composition  is  given  on  page  345.] 

Take  8  buckets  water  in  a  kettle  ;  let  it  boil  :  have  ready  pow- 
dered 8  oz.  annotto  ;  put  the  annotto  and  the  potash  into  the 
above  water,  heated  ;  boil  for  ^  an  hour ;  strain  into  a  pail ;  steep 
the  silk  in  it;  work  it  well  2  hours;  then  rinse,  wring,  and  dry  it. 
Dissolve  H  lbs.  of  alum  in  8  buckets  water;  pour  this  into  a 
pail ;  fix  your  silk  upon  rods ;  work  it  therein  2  hours  ;  wring,  and 

30* 


354  DYEING, 

dry  it.  When  dry,  sleep  the  silk  in  warm  water;  soak  it  well ; 
wring,  and  lay  it  by.  Next  pour  the  5  buckets  vinegar  into  a 
vat;  also  the  6  lbs.  Brazil  wood;  let  stand  48  hours;  pour  the 
liquor  out  of  the  vat  into  a  kettle;  boil  10  min.,  then  strain  it 
into  a  vat;  the  parts  remaininor  into  the  kettle  again;  pour  3 
buckets  water  upon  it;  boil  for  ^  hour;  and  pour  the  liquor 
with  the  other  Brazil  wood  into  the  vat.  Again  pour  6  oz.  com- 
position into  this  Brazil  wood  liquor;  stir  well;  steep  the  silk, 
first  well  soaked  in  water  for  2  hours.  If  the  liquor  still  con- 
tains any  colouring  matter,  take  it  out,  pour  it  into  the  kettle 
again;  work  t!ie  silk  another  time  in  it,  keeping  it  moderately 
warm:  rinse  in  running  water;  wring,  and  hang  it  up  to  dry. 
Eight,  instead  of  five  buckets  vinegar  Avill  greatly  improve  the 
colour.  Omitting  the  composition  altogether,  the  colour  will  be- 
come darker.  If  a  darker  and  fiery  hue  is  wanted,  add  2  lbs.  of 
Brazil  wood,  and  I  lb.  of  composition  to  the  above. 

A  CITRON  YELLOW,  With  querciirou  hark.  Take  2A  lbs.  alum; 
^  lb.  acetate  of  lead,  2  oz.  chalk,  and  3  lbs.  quercitron  bark. 

Take  a  kettle  with  8  buckets  water;  put  in  it2A  lbs.  alum;  dis- 
solve it;  pour  the  solution  into  a  pail ;  cool  it;  add  ^  lb.  acetate 
lead ;  stir  well  ;  put  in  2  oz.  chalk ;  stir  well  again,  and  continue 
at  intervals  for  12  hours  ;  let  it  settle  ;  pour  olf  this  liquor  into  a 
pail,  without  stirring  up  the  sediment ;  steep  the  silk  in  tliis ; 
work  it  well  for  six  hours  ;  wring,  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Next  take 
a  kettle  with  8. buckets  water;  put  in  it  the  quercitron;  boil  for 
^  of  an  hour;  strain  into  the  vat;  steep  the  silk  previously  satu- 
rated in  the  above  liquor  into  this;  work  it  well  an  hour;  rinse, 
wring,  and  dry  it.  For  a  higher  colour,  add  1  lb.  m^re  of  quer- 
citron;  saturate  the  silk  in  the  above  liquor;  then  boil  in  a  kettle 
8  buckets  water,  with  the  2  lbs.  quercitron  for  |  of  an  hour  ;  strain 
into  a  vat ;  steep  the  silk  ;  work  it  well  2  hours ;  wring,  and  dry 
it.  Lastly,  take  another  kettle  with  8  buckets  water;  put  in  ^ 
lbs,  more  of  quercitron;  boil  for  ^  of  an  hour;  filter  into  a  vat; 
work  in  the  previously  coloured  and  dried  silk  for  2  hours;  rinse, 
wring,  and  dry  it. 

A  HIGH  COLOURED,  AND  DEEP  CITRON  YELLOW.  Take  H  Ibs.  alum  ; 

3  OZ.  acetate  of  lead  ;    \h  oz.  chalk,  and  8  lbs.  French  berries. 

Dissolve,  in  a  kettle  of  8  buckets  water,  1^  lbs,  alum;  pour 
the  solution  into  a  pail,  or  cask  with  a  spiggot  6  inches  from  the 
bottom;  let  it  cool ;  put  in  it  3  oz.  acetate  lead  ;  stir  well  with  a 
rake;  add  1^  oz.  pulv'd.  chalk;  stir  the  whole  well  every  hour 
for  12  hours ;  then  take  out  the  rake  ;  let  the  sediment  subside  for 
12  hours;  then  draw  oflTthe  liquor,  not  disturbing  the  sediment, 
which  otherwise  would  create  stains  difficult  to  remove ;  pour  this 
decanted  liquor  into  a  vat;  work  the  silk  well  in  it  4  hours; 
wring  and  dry  it;  after  this,  moisten  it  with  warm  water;  rinse 
in  a  current;  wring,  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Lastly,  take  a  kettle 
with  8  buckets  water;  bruise  8  lbs.  Fr.  berries  in  a  mortar;  put 
them  in  the  kettle  ;  boil  ^  hour;  filter  the  liquor;  steep  the  silk 


DYEING.  355 

in  it;  work  for  i,  hour;  wring-,  and  dry  it.  The  liquor  left 
will  colour  a  brighter  citron  yellow ;  the  same  may  also  be  used 
with  turmeric  or  weld,  in  dyeing  yellow. 

Nankeen.  Take  2  lbs.  powdered  galls  ;  1§  oz.  annotto  ;  4  oz. 
potash,  and  i  lb.  soap. 

Put  1  lb.  powdered  galls  in  a  kettle  with  8  buckets  water; 
boil  10  min.;  strain  the  liquor  into  a  pail ;  let  i  lb.  soap  dissolve 
in  a  bucket  of  warm  water:  pour  it  into  the  galls;  put  into  a 
;rock  with  water,  1  oz.  annotto,  and  4  oz.  potash ;  boil  for  ^  an 
hour ;  add  to  the  half  of  it  the  galls  liquor  in  the  pail ;  stir  well ; 
steep  the  silk  in  it;  work  it  well  i  of  an  hour;  if  the  silk  be  a 
proper  redness,  add  such  proportion  of  the  annotto  liquor  as  is 
necessary  to  give  it  the  desired  tint;  put  the  silk  in  again ;  work 
it  well  1  of  an  hour :  rinse,  and  dry  it.  The  nankeen  colour  must 
not  remain  long  without  being  rinsed,  as  this  would  create  stains 
in  it. 

A  HANDSOME  TuRKisH  BLUE.  Take  1^  Ibs.  alum;  2^  oz. 
cochineal;  ^  lb.  composition;  |  oz.  indigo,  and  3  oz.  sulp.  acid. 

The  silk,  being  boiled  in  soap  and  water,  must  be  rinsed  in 
running  water,  WTung,  and  well  beaten ;  then  coloured  to  a  hand- 
some light  blue,  in  a  cold  or  warm  keep,  rinsed  in  a  stream, 
wrung,  and  dried.  When  dry,  moisten  it  in  Avarm  water,  wring 
it^  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Next,  prepare  a  kettle  with  8  buckets  of 
water;  dissolve  in  it  ^  lb.  alum;  pour  it  into  a  vat;  steep  the 
silk  in  it ;  work  it  well  for  one  hour  ;  wring,  and  iaj'  it  aside  wet. 
Lastly,  put  in  a  kettle  8  buckets  water;  boil  it ;  put  into  it  2h  oz. 
cochineal ;  boil  for  10  min.;  cool  with  a  bucket  water  ;  add  \  lb. 
of  the  solution  of  tin,  and  ^  oz.  indigo,  previously  dissolved  in 
3  oz.  sulp.  acid  ;  stir  well ;  immerse  the  silk,  coloured  blue,  in 
this  coch.  liquor;  work  well  till  the  liquor  begins  to  boil;  let  it 
boil  another  hour,  working  it  all  the  time ;  rinse  ;  wring,  and 
dry  it.  If  you  desire  a  nearer  approach  to  red,  take  more  cochi- 
neal. 

A  HANDSOME  GREEN.     Take  2  lbs.  alum  and  4  lbs.  quercitron. 

Dissolve  in  8  buckets  water  in  a  kettle  2  lbs.  alum  ;  pour  it 
into  a  tub;  previously  to  this,  colour  the  silk,  in  a  cold  keep,  a 
handsome  light  blue  ;  rinse  in  a  stream  ;  wring  ;  steep  the  silk 
in  the  alum  water;  work  well  3  hours;  wring,  and  lay  it  by 
wet.  Lasfli/,  put  4  lbs.  quercitron  into  a  kettle  with  8  buckets 
water  ;  boil  well  ^  hour  ;  filter  into  a  tub  ;  prepare  a  mixture  of 
indigo  and  sulph.  acid,  (nine  parts  acid  to  one  of  indigo,  at  100° 
to  112^  Fahr. ;)  pour  this  into  the  quercitron  liquor  in  the  tub ; 
stir  well  ;  steep  the  silk ;  work  it  well  i  hour;  wring,  and  dry 
it.  If  the  colour  requires,  aid  a  small  quantity  of  turmeric  to 
the  j^ellow  liquor.  Let  the  silk  not  be  coloured  too  dark  in  the 
cold  keep  ;  as  a  handsome  green  is  difficult  to  procure  on  a 
ground  spoiled  by  keeping  it  in  the  dark.  If  the  colour  is 
light,  it  is  easier  regulating  it  in  the  final  dye  to  the  required 
shade. 


356  DYEING. 

Bkst  blue,  (ultra  marine.)  Put  copper  filings,  free  from 
alloy,  into  a  glass  vessel,  with  muriatic  acid  in  double  quantity. 
Let  tliem  stand  24  hours  or  so,  till  the  /nur.  acid  attain  a  blue  or 
deep  green  colour.  Pour  off  the  clear  spirit  of  salt  (mur.  acid) 
into  another  glass  vessel,  add  fresh  mur.  acid  to  the  copper  filings, 
repeat  the  process  until  the  filings  are  dissolved,  leaving  the  resi- 
duum remaining.  To  these  solutions  together,  add  the  spirits  of 
ammonia  to  saturate  the  mixture.  Then  moisten  the  silk  in  warm 
water,  all  its  parts  being  equally  soaked.  Then  wring  it ;  steep 
it  in  the  above  solution  or  mixture;  work  it  till  it  has  attained  the 
intended  colour  ;  take  it  out ;  wring  it  well  ;  rinse  it  in  a  stream  ; 
and  dry  it  in  a  shade.  To  the  remaining  liquor,  add  a  small 
quantity  of  spirits  of  ammonia,  and  other  handsome  blues  can 
be  made. 

For  a  dark  blue,  take  H  oz.  indigo;  ^  lb.  oil  of  vitriol;  1^ 
lbs.  alum  ;  4  oz.  logwood,  and  |  lb.  of  alum. 

Finely  levigate  and  sift  the  1^  oz.  indigo;  put  ^  lb.  of  oil  of 
vitriol  in  a  stone  jar,  to  which  add  the  former.  Stir  well  with  a 
long,  new  pipe-stem,  or  such  like  thing,  till  the  ferment  ceases. 
Set  it  by  for  24  hours;  then  add  a  little  water,  and  stir  again; 
after  which,  set  it  by  till  wanted. 

Next  take  a  kettle  with  8  buckets  of  water;  put  in  it  the  1^ 
lbs.  alum,  and  dissolve  it  completely.  Then  pour  the  solution 
set  aside  into  a  pail,  steep  the  silk  therein,  working  it  well  for 
an  hour;  then  take  it  out,  wring,  lay  it  by  in  a  wet  state  for  use. 

Put  8  buckets  of  water  into  a  kettle;  pour  the  indigo  solution 
into  it ;  mix  by  stirring ;  put  in  the  silk,  stir  it  therein  for  an 
hour.  Then  rinse  in  running  water,  wring,  and  set  it  by  wet. 
It  is  now  a  liglit  blue  colour. 

To  deepen  it,  or  render  it  dark  blue,  take  a  kettle  wath  16 
buckets  water,  brought  to  a  boil  ;  put  therein  4  lbs.  logwood, 
boil  for  J  of  an  hour.  Take  half  this  liquor,  and  strain  it  into 
a  tub;  put  into  this  tub  }  lb.  alum,  previously  dissolved;  stir 
well,  and  steep  the  light  blue  silk  in  it,  working  it  well  ^  of 
an  hour.  Take  it  out,  wring,  and  keep  it  in  a  wet  state.  Throw 
away  the  liquor  in  the  tub. 

Lastly,  pour  into  anotiier  vat  the  remaining  8  buckets  left  in 
the  kettle;  run  it  through  a  sieve  ;  steep  the  silk  in  the  liquor, 
and  work  it  well  for  ^  an  hour.  Then  take  it  out,  rinse  it  in  a 
stream,  wring,  and  dry  it. 

A  VIOLET  BLUE,  (iflfr  the  jnanner  of  the  fores;oing.  Take  1  oz. 
indigo;  ^  lb.  oil  vitriol ;  i  lb.  alum ;  4  lbs.  logwood,  and  1  lb. 
Guinea  or  red  wood. 

The  indigo  must  be  dissolved  in  the  oil  of  vitriol,  as  in  the 
foregoing  receipt,  and  kept  ready  for  use  ;  then  dissolve  in  a 
kettle  of  8  buckets  of  water,  1:^  lbs.  alum,  pour  the  solution  into 
a  tub,  work  the  silk  well  one  hour,  take  it  out,  wring  it,  and  keep 
it  wet.  Next,  fill  a  vat  with  8  buckets  of  water;  pour  into  this 
the  above  solution  of  indigo,  stir  well,  work  the  alum-dressed 


DYEING.  357 

silk  therein  ^  an  hour,  take  it  out,  rinse  in  running-  water,  wring-, 
and  set  it  by  in  a  wet  state.  Lastly,  put  8  buckets  of  water  into  a 
kettle  with  4  lbs.  logwood  and  1  lb.  of  Guinea  or  red  wood.  Boil 
the  whole  well  for  |  of  an  hour,  run  this  decoction  through  a 
sieve  into  a  vat,  steep  the  blue  coloured  silk  in  it ;  work  well  for 
^  an  hour,  then  rinse  in  running  water,  and  dry. 

A  DEEP  RED.  Take  5  oz.  annotto ;  1  lb.  potash  ;  2^  lbs.  alum  ; 
and  5  lbs.  madder. 

Into  a  kettle  with  8  buckets  water,  put  5  lbs.  madder  finely 
p  jwdered  ;  add  1  lb.  potash ;  boil  ^  hour ;  filter  this  into  a  tub  ; 
steep  the  silk  in  it ;  work  well  an  hour  ;  rinse,  and  dry  it;  dis- 
solve 2h  lbs.  alum  in  a  kettle,  which  pour  into  a  vat;  steep  the 
silk  in  it ;  work  it  well  2  hours  ;  wring,  and  dry  it.  Lastly,  put 
8  buckets  water  into  a  kettle;  add  5  lbs  madder;  heat  it,  but  do 
not  let  it  boil ;  steep  the  silk  (first  in  warm  water,  to  saturate, 
and  wring  it  out)  in  the  above  lukewarm  madder  liquor;  work 
it  well  till  it  begins  to  boil ;  let  it  boil  ^  hour  longer,  working  it 
continually  ;  wring,  and  dry  it. 

A  GREEN.  Take  1}  lbs.  alum;  1  lb.  potash,  and  8  lbs.  tur- 
meric. 

The  silk  must  be  first  dyed  in  a  cold  keep  to  a  handsome  light 
blue ;  the  colour  laid  cautiously  throughout  ,•  rinse  in  a  stream  ; 
wring,  and  lay  it  by  wet.  Immerse  the  silk  next  in  warm  water ; 
let  it  be  equally  saturated ,-  wring,  and  lay  it  aside  wet.  Next,  pre- 
pare a  kettle  with  8  buckets  water;  put  in  1  lb.  potash  and  \\ 
lbs.  turmeric  :  boil  them  well  for  10  minutes;  filter  into  a  vat; 
steep  the  silk  in  this  liquor ;  work  it  well  ^  an  hour ;  wring,  and 
put  it  by  wet.  Lastly,  put  8  buckets  water  into  a  kettle  ;  add  to 
them  1^  lbs.  alum;  dissolve  it;  pour  the  solution  into  a  tub; 
work  well  ^  hour ;  rinse,  wring,  and  dry  in  the  shade. 


CONCLUSION. 

Statistics  relative  to  silk,  are  far  from  being  brought  to  that 
state  to  which,  by  experimentalists,  they  questionless  should  be, 
for  the  explicit  and  definite  guidance  of  the  young  culturist.  Few, 
if  any,  have  aimed  at  a  mean,  or  a  well  defined  avera<i;e,  as  the 
unit  of  calculation,  throughout  the  entire  volume  of  manipulation, 
from  the  mulberry  seed,  or  e^g  of  the  silk  worm  to  the  cocoon; 
or,  rather,  to  the  pound  of  silk,  the  yard  of  fabric,  or  even  to  the 
amount  passed  to  the  credit  of  each  that  shares  in  the  division  of 
labour  in  this  important  order  oi  national  industry.  In  all  things 
relative  to  one  genus  or  species,  notwithstanding  varieties,  or 
deviations  occasioned  by  contingency,  an  average,  as  before  ob- 
served, does  and  must  exist,  however  confused  views  and  vacillat- 
ing practices,  a  sort  of  navigation  that  never  dreamt  of  polarity, 
may  determine  to  the  contrary.  Instead  of  establishing  this  unit, 
or  common  measure,  examples  are  given  from  all  the  varieties  of 
the  mulberry,  species  of  the  silk  worm,  and  methods  of  treatment ; 
and  to  increase  this  vibration  from  right  to  left  of  a  right  line, 
whatever  that  line  be,  ratios  are  given,  without  reduction,  from 
the  pounds  and  ounces  of  different  European  countries,  which 
vary  one  from  the  other,  as  much  as  the  pound  avoirdupois  does 
from  the  pound  troy.  The  consequence  of  all  tliis  is,  that  dis- 
crepancy is  frequently  made  to  appear,  where  real  agreement  ex- 
ists; or  the  latter  has  been  supposed,  whilst  the  former  has  been 
concealed. 

No  writer  has  exemplified  a  course  of  treatment,  which  can, 
with  greater  safety  be  referred  to,  as  the  unit  in  this  respect,  or 
standard  to  which  all  may  attain,  than  the  Count  of  Varese. 
Though  in  the  appendix,  a  Milan  pound  of  12  ounces  is  adverted 
to,  yet  in  the  body  of  the  work,  it  is  evident  that  the  count  is 
conducting  his  calculations,  by  the  poids  de  marc  of  Char- 
lemagne; a  pound  of  K!  ounces,  each  of  576  grains  ;  one  of  which 
being  equal  to  "S^OS  of  an  English  grain,  the  whole  pound  was 
equal  to  7561  English  grains.*  Now,  it  is  of  this  pound  he  is 
speaking,  when  he  informs  us  that  210  of  his  cocoons,  from  the 
common  worms  of  4  moultings,  weighed  1  lb.  And  as  the  Eng- 
lish avoirdupois  pound  is  equal  to  7,000  grains  troy,  it  must  fol- 
low, that  such  was  the  excellency  of  his  feeding  and  management, 
and  therefore  his  cocoons  so  heavy,  that  it  required  only  222  of 

*  We  have  only  to  refer  to  page  338  to  be  satisfied  that  he  calculates 
by  an  ounce  of  576  grains,  and  to  page  336  to  be  assured  that  the  pound 
to  which  he  constantly  refers,  is  one  of  16  ounces:  i.  e.  9,216  grains 
equal  to  7,561  English  troy  grains, 

358 


CONCLUSION.  359 

them  to  weigh  a  pound  avoirdupois ;  a  result  similar  to  this,  is 
precisely  such,  as  under  similar  circumstances,  we  should  have 
expected. 

Su>nbtr.  of  cocoons  to  the  pound  avoirdupois.  We  are  fully 
aware  of  the  widely  discrepant  quotations  on  this  subject  by 
different  writers,  not  having  a  standard  of  any  kind  whatever  in 
view  ,■  which,  therefore,  range  at  all  ratios  from  160  to  600,  and 
even  upwards,  to  the  pound.  In  proportion  precisely  as  we 
neglect  or  starve  the  insect  we  shall  diminish  the  cocoon ;  and  it 
remains  to  be  shown,  that  Americans,  if  only  they  have  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  Italian  prototype,  cannot  come  so  near  to  the 
standard  as  to  raise  cocoons  of  such  excellency  that  -250  shall 
be  equal  to  1  lb.  avoirdupois.  When  this  can  be  demonstrated 
in  the  affirmative,  on  the  possibility  of  which,  with  the  condition 
specified,  we  have  no  doubt;  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  say,  that 
250  cocoons  to  the  pound,  are  the  standard,  the  unit  of  calcula- 
tion, of  the  medium  circumstances  we  contemplate.  Rejecting 
examples  of  extraordinary  deviations,  either  from  the  species  of 
insect  employed  or  negligence  of  treatment,  the  mean  of  the  14 
examples  quoted  in  the  subjoined  note,*  not  of  this  character,  is 
245  cocoons  to  the  pound  avoirdupois;  affording  sufficient  pre- 
sumption, that  under  circumstances  already  specified,  especially 
with  the  aid  of  the  multicaulis  tree,  the  careful  culturist  will 
realize  cocoons  of  250  to  the  pound.  And  with  this  evidence  be- 
fore us,  we  are  inclinable  to  add,  that  in  every  case,  where  more 
cocoons  of  the  common  worms  are  requisite  to  weigrh  one  pound  ; 
the  only  allowable  inference  is,  that  the  feeding  and  treatment 
have  not  been  equal  to  what  were  exemplified  at  Varese. 

Founds  of  cocoons  to  the  pound  of  silk.  On  this  subject  we  have 
taken  the  trouble  not  only  to  collect  30  examples  from  the  most 
respectable  authorities,  but  also  to  reduce  them,  as  in  the  sub- 
joined note,f  to  a  common  ratio.  The  result,  or  the  average 
of  these  30  examples  is,  that  it  requires  9  lbs.  4^  oz.  of  cocoons 
to  yield  1  lb.  of  reeled  silk.  It  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
note,  that  the  minimum  quantity  yielding  1  lb.  of  reeled  silk  is 
5  lbs.,  the  maximum  13  lbs.  10  oz  :  10  examples  of  the  30  were 
each  8  lbs.,  and  only  3  examples  below  8  lbs.;  4  examples  be- 
tween 8  and  9  lbs.;  one  of  9  lbs.;  one  9^  lbs.;  3  of  10  lbs.,  and  7 

*  222,Dandolo;  200,  in  Georgia;  160,  A.  Benjamin;  300,  Roberts; 
300,  Cheney  ;  306,  Busti;  337,  d'Homergue;  250,  Kenrick;  256,  Pul- 
lein;  240,  Judge  Br\-;  206,  Mrs.  Davenport;  206,  Silk  Culturist;  239, 
Bonafoux;  206,  Stevenson. 

-(■  Two  examples  of  only  5  lbs.  each;  one  of  7  lbs.  8  oz.;  10  of  8  lbs. 
each ;  8^  lbs.;  8^  lbs.;  8A  lbs.;  8|  lbs.;  9  lbs.;  9|  lbs.;  3  of  10  lbs.  each ; 
11  lbs.;  4  of  12  lbs.;  12^  lbs.;  13/g.  lbs.;  13f  lbs.  Authorities ;  Dandolo, 
De  Hazzi,  Bonafoux,  Congressional  Report.  Dr.  Lardner,  Cobb,  Kenrick, 
Roberts,  Silk  Culturist,  Fessenden,  Stevenson,  Busti,  Davenport,  Murray. 
Transac.  Am.  Phil.  Soc. 


360 


CONCLUSION. 


exceeding  10  lbs.  The  arithmetical  average  9  lbs.  4^  oz.  We, 
therefore,  are  fully  warranted  in  stating  10  lbs.  of  cocoons  to  1  /b. 
of  reeled  silk,  as  the  whole  number  unit  of  calculation  at  this  stage 
of  our  statistical  investigation.  And  as  i.iO  cocoons  have  been, 
under  the  conditions  specified,  taken  as  the  number  weio'hincr  1 
lb.;  it  must  follow,  on  the  same  condition,  that  2,500  such  cocooivi 
will  yield  1  lb.  of  reeled  silk  ,•  which  is  equivalent  to  a  requirement 
of  2,500  vjorms  that  shall  survive  from  the  ea;^  to  the  cocoon  to  pro- 
duce 1  lb.  of  reeled  silk.  Again,  as  of  the  3(5,244  eggs  that  weigh 
one  ounce  avoirdupois,  (see  page  293,)  26,650,  with  Dandolo's 
care,  are  supposed  to  survive.  From  every  ounce  of  silk  worm 
eggs,  therefore,  at  the  same  rate  of  treatment,  we  may  expect  106 
lbs.  9  oz.  of  cocoons,  or  10  lbs.  lOi  oz.  of  reeled  silk.  Hence, 
we  may  derive  the  following  table  of  the  proportionality  that 
practically  may  exist  between  from  1  ounce  to  40  ounces  of  eggs, 
or  to  more  than  a  million  of  surviving  worms,  and  their  product 
in  the  weight  of  cocoons  and  of  reeled  silk. 


OuDces 

of 
Egss. 

Worms  surviv- 
ing to  tlie 
Cocoon. 

Weiglit 

of 
Cocoons. 

Weight 

of 

Reeled  Silk. 

1 

26650 

11)6.          oz. 

106       9 

lbs. 

10 

oz. 

10^ 

2 

53300 

213       2 

21 

5 

3 

79950 

319     11 

31 

15i 

4 

106600 

426       4 

42 

10 

5 

133250 

532     13 

53 

H 

10 

266500 

1065     10 

106 

9 

20 

533000 

2031       4 

213 

2 

30 

799500 

3196     14 

319 

11 

40 

1066000  4262       8 

426 

4 

From  these  data,  it  must  necessarily  follow,  that  an  average 
cocoon  will  weigh  V'^]",  or  28  grains,  and  will  contain  Vi'^p^  ^^ 
grains  of  silk.  Kf;lative  to  the  length  of  fibre  contained  in  a 
cocoon,  quotations  vary  commonly  from  300  to  to  800  yards  ;  but 
Count  Dandolo  will  give  us  example  of  those  whose  fibre  exceeds 
half  a  mile,  and  in  one  case  (p.  331)  of  cocoons,  whose  fibre  is 
each  equal  to  1295  yards,  or  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  mile  !  Of 
each  cocoon,  the  proportion  of  silk  that  can  be  reeled  to  the  floss 


CONCLUSION. 


361 


that  can  only  be  spun,  is,  by  the  most  reputable  authorities, 
quoted  as  19  to  1.  One  pound  of  reeled  silk  is  ordinarily  manu- 
factured into  16  to  19  yards  of  the  silk  called  gros  de  Naples, 
which,  at  average  prices,  is  worth  from  §10  to  $14:  i.  e.  §5  for 
the  raw  material,  and  from  $5  to  $9  for  the  manufacture  per 
pound.  Different  authors  give  from  300  to  600  as  the  number  of 
eggs  laid  by  each  female  moth.  Dandolo  quotes  510 ;  conse- 
quently, about  78  female  moths,  or  156  moths  of  both  sexes,  are 
requisite  to  the  production  of  one  ounce  of  eggs. 

Feeding  statistics.  We  have  yet  three  important  inquiries 
before  us.  In  order  to  obtain  any  quantity  of  reeled  silk,  from 
10  lbs.  to  400  lbs.  and  upwards,  or  the  silk  yielded  by  the  worms 
surviving  from  1  ounce  of  eggs  to  40.  1st,  what  will  be  the 
weight  of  leaves  requisite  in  each  of  those  cases  ?  2dly,  the 
extent  of  land  necessary  for  their  growth  .■'  and,  3dly,  the  average 
nett  profit  on  each  acre  employed  in  the  production  of  silk? 

1st.  On  accounting  for  the  different  number  of  worms  for 
which  the  Counts  de  Hazzi,  Dandolo,  and  M.  Bonafoux,  calcu- 
late, and  the  difference  between  the  weights  of  Bavaria  and  Mi- 
lan, we  shall  find  a  striking  agreement  between  them  relative  to 
the  quantity  of  leaves  requisite,  during  each  of  the  ages  of  the 
silk  worm,  respectively.  The  calculation  of  Dandolo  was  for 
144,000,  or  the  worms  surviving  to  the  cocoon  of  5  oz.  of  eggs, 
as  is  stated  below. 


For  five  ounces  of  eggs. 

For  one  ounce. 

Ages. 

Of  sorted 
leaves. 

Refuse. 

In  all. 

Id  all. 

1 

lbs.      oz. 

30  0 

lbs.       07- 

4  8 

lbs.      02.]     lbs.           oz. 

34  8        6  143 

2 

90  0 

15  0 

105  0      21     0 

3 

300  0 

45  0 

345  0      69     0 

4 

900  0 

135  0 

1035  0    207     0 

5 

5490  0 

510  0 

6000  0  1200     0 

Total. 

6810  0 

709  8  7519  8 1503  14f 

For  the  maintenance,  then,  of  144,000  surviving  worms,  or 
the  worms  surviving  from  5  ounces,  equivalent  to  576  English 
pounds  of  cocoons,  or  57  lbs.  9i  oz.  of  reeled  silk,  7519  lbs. 
8  oz.  of  the  white  mulberry  leaf 'must  be  taken  from  the  trees; 
and  as  the  pound  used  in  Dandolo's  statistics  was  equal  to 
7561  English  grains,  and  our  avoirdupois  pound  to  7000  grains, 

31 


362  CONCLUSION. 

It  is  evident  that  his  7519  lbs.  8  oz.  of  leaves  are  equal  to  8123 
lbs.  nearly  of  leaves,  according  to  our  pound  avoirdupois  ;  for 
which  lie  obtained  600  lbs.  of  cocoons;  and  since  he  informs  us, 
that  "in  the  year  1814,  which  was  unfavourable,  my  cocoons 
yielded  me  about  15  ounces  of  very  fine  silk  from  T^  lbs.  of 
cocoons."  We  have  evidence  that  he  obtained  75  lbs.,  equal  to 
81  lbs.  of  our  weight,  from  600  Milanese  pounds  of  cocoons; 
■which  is  at  the  rate  of  100  lbs.  of  white  mulberry  leaves  nearly, 
('■'If^,)  for  every  pound  of  reeled  silk;  to  which,  according  to  the 
evidence  before  us,  80  lbs.  of  multicaulis  leaves  are  equal,  on  ac- 
count of  the  greater  quantity  of  nutritive  matter,  and  less  of 
refuse,  in  each  pound  of  the  latter.  Hence,  at  this  rate,  6498  lbs. 
avoirdupois  of  multicaulis  leaves  are  sufficient  to  rear  the  worms 
proceeding  from  5  ounces  of  eggs,  or  to  the  production  of  81  lbs. 
of  silk,  at  the  rate  of  c.lture  accomplished  by  the  vigilance  and 
care  of  Dandolo  during  an  unfavourable  year.  This  is  at  the 
rate  of  1300  lbs.  nearly  of  multicaulis  leaves  for  every  ounce  of 
eggs  ;  or  of  45  lbs.  of  multicaulis  leaves  for  every  1000  worms. 

Hence,  the  weight  of  multicaulis  leaves  requisite  for  the 
worms  that  may,  and  should,  with  successful  treatment,  proceed 
from  one  ounce,  is  equal  to  1300  lbs.;  from  2  ounces,  2600 
lbs. ;  from  3  ounces,  3900  lbs.  ;  from  4  ounces,  5200  lbs. ;  from 
5  ounces,  6500  lbs. ;  from  10  ounces,  13000  lbs. ;  from  20  ounces, 
20000  lbs. ;  from  30  ounces,  39000  lbs.  ;  and  from  40  ounces, 
52000  lbs. 

At  page  221  and  222,  we  have  not  calculated  on  more  than  6^ 
lbs.  of  leaves  from  1  multicaulis  plant  of  the  third  year's  growth. 
Mr.  Roberts,  in  the  last  edition  of  his  manual,  allows  15  lbs.  for  the 
foliage  of  the  multicaulis  of  the  3d  year,  and  16  lbs.  for  its  4th  year; 
and  as  by  planting  8  feet  asunder  in  the  rows,  and  1^  feet  from 
tree  to  tree  in  each  row,  3630  trees  may  be  planted  in  one  acre, 
which,  at  the  ratio  specified  by  Mr.  Roberts,  would  yield  58080 
lbs.  of  leaves,  more  than  sufficient  for  the  feeding  of  1,000,000 
surviving  worms,  which,  at  2500  cocoons  to  the  lb.  of  reeled 
silk,  are  equal  to  400  lbs.,  that,  at  ^4  per  lb.  would  yield 
^1600  per  acre. 

The  particulars  of  the  expense  of  cultivating  this  acre,  and 
for  feeding  the  1,000,000  worms,  &c.,  he  estimates  as  follows : 
"  Interest  on  1  acre  of  land,  valued  at  ^20,  at  6  per  cent,  is 
^l  20;  manure  for  ditto  §520  00;  ploughing  and  harrowing, 
^5  00 ;  wages  of  one  woman  for  6  weeks,  at  ^3  per  month, 
^4  50;  board  for  ditto,  at  ^2  per  week,  ^12;  wages  ef  one 
woman  for  5  weeks,  at  ^3  per  month,  ^5^3  75  ;  board  for  ditto,  at 
$2  per  week,  ^10  ;  wages  of  5  children,  from  7  to  10  years  of  age, 
for  4  weeks,  at^l  per  week  each,  ^20 ;  board  of  ditto,  4  weeks,  at 
^1  50  per  week  each,  ^30  ;  expense  of  reeling  silk,  ^50;  inte- 
rest in  cost  of  the  cocoonery,  ^48 ;  or  expenses  in  all,  ^204  85. 
Which,  deducted  from  the  ^1600  stated  above,  would  leave  the 


CONCLUSION.  363 

nett  profit  of  $1395  14  per  acre.  We  hope  that  Mr.  Roherts' 
results  will  be  realized.  He  has  taken  16  lbs.  for  the  yield  in 
foliage  of  the  multic.aulis  on  the  4lh  year.  We  have  taken  not 
more  than  about  half  of  this  ;  and  if  the  half  of  this  profit  per  acre, 
or  $69~,  or  even  ,|^500  per  acre  be  obtained,  it  will  certainly  be 
considerably  more  than  can  be  realized  from  one  acre,  by  any 
other  species  of  crop  whatever,  now  in  cultivation,  or  which  can 
be  generally  available 


■£B:: 


MULBERRY   TREES    AND    SILK. 


THE    MORODENDRON    SILK    COMPANY, 

OF    PHILADELPHIA; 

Chartered  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvajiia,  for  the  raising  of  the  Mulberry 
Tree,  and  the  Production  and  Manufacture  of  Silk. 

This  Company,  whose  Silk  Farm  and  Cocooneries  are  situated 
on  the  Philadelphia  and  Wilmington  Rail  Road,  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  is  prepared  to  receive  orders  for 
the  MoRus  MuLTicAULis  mulberry  tree  ;  also,  for  silk  worms' 
eggs  of  the  most  approved  quality,  and  in  quantity  equal  to  the 
demands  of  the  market,  in  lots  to  suit  farmers  or  companies,  on 
the  most  accommodating  terms.  Every  thing  sold  by  this  com- 
pany will  be  warranted  genuine  and  in  good  condition,  and  will 
be  forwarded,  per  order,  to  any  part  of  the  country. 

The  mulberry  trees  of  the  Morodendron  Silk  Company,  are 
produced  from  the  best  stock  in  the  country,  and  are  acclimated 
and  hardy  to  stand  the  winter.  They  have  neither  been  produced 
from  trees  imported  nor  raised  in  hot-houses,  but  are  warranted 
among  the  most  healthy  and  vigorous  on  this  continent.  They 
have  also  taken  the  utmost  care,  in  the  selection  of  their  eggs, 
to  preserve  the  stock  of  the  very  first  quality.  Farmers,  there- 
fore, before  purchasing,  will  do  well  to  call  on  the  Actuary  in 
this  city,  who  will  furnish  them  with  every  thing  wanted  to 
make  a  safe  and  sure  commencement  in  the  silk  culture. 

All  ORDERS,  addressed  to  John  Clarke,  Superintendent  of  the 
Morodendron  Silk  Company,  Philadelphia,  will  receive  prompt 
attention. 

ily*  Mr.  Clarke  proposes  to  receive  on  commission,  and  keep 
constantly  on  hand,  for  sale,  all  kinds  of  materials  necessary  for 
the  supply  of  farmers,  planters,  and  gentlemen  who  may  be  de- 
sirous of  entering  into  the  silk  culture,  such  as  Reels,  Spinners, 
Throwsters,  and  all  the  usual  furniture  of  a  cocoonery. 

Office,  No.  8  North  Ninth  Street,  Philadelphia. 

364 


THOMAS,  COWPERTHWAIT  &,  CO, 

PUBLISHERS  AND  BOOKSELLERS,  PHILADELPmA, 

WILL   PUBLISH    ABOUT    THE    FIRST   OF   JANUARY,  1839, 

MITCHELL'S  SCHOOL  GEOGRAPHY, 

ACCOMPANIED    BY 

AN    ATLAS    OF    SIXTEEN    IVIAPS. 


The  author,  Mr.  S.  AuGcsxrs  Mitchell,  is  favourably  known  to  the  public, 
having  for  a  number  of  years  past  devoted  his  attention  to  the  compiliiisr  and  pub- 
lishing of  Geographical  Works  and  Maps.  The  knowledge  he  has  acquired  in  the 
prosecution  of  this  business,  has  induced  many  of  his  friends,  teachers  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  present  work,  persuaded  that  he 
could  prepare  one  suited  to  their  views,  and  calculated  to  facilitate  the  progress  of 
their  pupils. 

Geography  forms  at  present  an  essential  branch  of  elementary  education,  and  is 
well  calculated  to  awaken  and  cherish  that  spirit  of  curiosity  and  inquiry  which  is 
so  natural  to  the  youthful  mind.  On  its  value  it  would  be  needless  to  expatiate, 
and  its  proper  regulation  being  calculated  to  open  the  way  to  more  important  stu- 
dies, is  not  unworthy  the  illustration  of  mature  and  cultivated  minds 

Within  the  last  twelve  or  fifteen  years  the  great  attention  paid  to  Geography  in 
our  principal  schools  and  seminaries,  has  been  the  means  of  producing  several 
meritorious  works  on  this  subject.  They  have  their  respective  peculiarities  and  ex- 
cellencies, and  are  mostly  well  calculated  to  aid  the  scholar  in  his  progress  towards 
acquiring  a  competent  knowledge  of  that  interesting  science.  They  ought  not, 
however,  to  be  resarded  as  superseding  all  further  endeavours  in  this  department 
of  usefulness,  or  as  discouraging  any  well-intended  efforts  of  others  to  do  good  in  a 
similar  way. 

To  most  of  the  works  in  question  the  objection  attaches  of  failing  to  represent 
the  world  as  it  is  at  the  present  day.  Perhaps  not  one  of  them  (though  editions  for 
1838  are  before  the  public,')  exhibit  even  our  own  country  according  to  its  actual 
divisions.  The  same  objection  exists  in  relation  to  South  America  and  some  other 
quarters  of  the  world,  where  important  States  are  neither  mentioned  in  the  Geo- 
graphies nor  delineated  in  the  Maps. 

To  obviate  these  omissions  the  author  of  this  School  Oeography  has  endea^'oured 
to  describe  in  the  Work  and  delineate  in  the  Maps  composing  the  Atlns,  such  a  re- 
presentation of  the  principal  States  in  the  world,  as  the  plan  prescribed  for  the  one 
and  the  scalr-  of  the  other  would  permit,  to  their  fullest  extent. 

The  preliminary  part  of  the  work,  or  the  description  of  the  definitions,  will  be 
found  perhaps  as  simple  and  easy  of  comprehension  as  can  well  be  obtained.  Tt  is 
arranged  chiefly  in  the  nxfAhoA  oi  question  and  answer,  yet  presenting,  it  is  believed, 
sufficient  scope  to  exercise  the  mental  faculties  of  the  pupil. 

The  Pictorial  Illustrations  will  comprise  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  tico  hundred 
Engravings,  chiefly  from  original  designs,  and  engraved  by  the  best  artists  in  the 
country.  Some  of  these  will  embrace  a  number  of  the  leading  objects  of  nature 
and  art,  and  others  will  illustrate,  in  an  appropriate  manner,  important  facts  stated 
in  the  body  of  the  work.  They  are  not  introduced  for  mere  ornament,  but  are  de- 
signed to  convey  information  by  visible  images,  the  most  forcible  of  all  language. 

The  Maps  composing  the  Atlas  are  from  original  drawinsrs,  and  encraved  in  the 
neat  and  distinct  manner  for  which  Jl/r.  Jl/j<cAcH"s  j»/'.-o  have  been  distinguished: 
this  is  a  subject  of  considerable  importance  to  both  teacher  and  scholar.  Snme 
very  good  maps  found  in  atlasses  accompanying  sciiool  geographies  are  ensraved 
in  a  manner  so  slovenly  and  indistinct,  that  it  is  often  diflicult  to  distinguish  the 
names  of  places  ;  others  are  printed  on  paner  so  ill  calculated  for  the  purpose,  that 
the  atlas  falls  to  pieces  in  a  short  time.  It  is  believed  that  the  great  majority  of 
teachers  are  well  aware  of  this  fact,  it  being  frequently  complained  of  These  ob- 
jections the  publishers  will  obviate  to  the  utmost  extent  that  the  plan  prescribed 
for  this  work  will  permit. 

The  Atlas  will  coniain  the  following  Maps  .- 

The  World  on  the  Globular  Projection —The  World  on  the  Polar  Projection — 

North  America  —  The  United  States  — The  Eastern  States  — The  Aliddle  States  — 

The  Southern  States— The  AVestern  Slates  —  Mexico  and  Guatemala  —  South 

America  —  Europe  —  Asia  —  Africa  —  Oceana  —  Palestine  —  Liberia. 

i 


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PARLEY'S  FIRST  BOOK  OF  HISTORY.— The  First  History, 
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PETER  PARLEY'S  GEOGRAPHY,  With  numerous  Engravings. 

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FROST'S  UNITED  STATES.— History  of  the  United  States;  for  the 
use  of  Schools  and  Academies.  By  John  Frost.  Illustrated  with  forty  engravings. 
—The  design  of  the  author  in  this  his  larger  history,  has  been  to  furnish  a  text  book 
full  and  complete  enough  for  the  use  of  colleges,  academies,  and  the  higher  semina- 
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Philadelphia,  Oct.  1836. 
This  history  of  the  United  States  is,  in  our  opinion,  more  full  and  more  exact 
than  any  of  the  same  size,  and  in  all  other  respects  preferable,  as  a  book  intended 
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WILLIAM- RUSSELL,  JOPRPII  MOONEY, 

G.  .1.  HOPPER,  .loSKI'lI  CHAMBERLAIN, 

RUFUS  LOCKWOOD,  MYRON  BEARDSLEY, 

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JOHN  OAKLEY,  THEODORE  W.  PORTER, 

HENRY  SWORDS,  C.  C.  JENNINGS, 

GEORGE  INGRAM,  ROBERT  J.  FURNEY, 

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JOSEPH  M'KEEN,  EDMUND  D.  BARRY,  D.D., 

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the  author's  lar-rer  history  of  the  United  States.  In  reducing  the  quantity  of  mat- 
ter to  such  a  Compass,  as  will  place  the  volume  within  the  reach  of  the  cnmmon 
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comprehensive  history  of  the  country. 

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wood.    Corrected  and  revised  from  the  twenty-fourth  English  edition. 

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THE  COLU3IBIAN  ORATOR.— Containing  a  variety  of  original 
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RUDDIMAN'S  RUDIMENTS  OF  THE  LATIN  TONGUE, 

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INTRODUCTION  TO  DO. 

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PARLEY'S  AMERICA,  new  and  revised  edition. 
EUROPE,        "      " 

ASIA,  ' ' 

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ROSS'S  LATIN  GRAlVtM.AR.— A  short,  plain,  comprehensive,  prac- 
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Thomas,  Cowperthwait  &  Co.  have  also  become  the  Publishers  of 

MITCHELL'S  POCKET  MAPS. 

All  of  which  have  been  corrected  and  improved,  and  they  offer  them  to  the  trade, 
neatly  done  up  in  morocco,  on  liberal  terms.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  various 
maps  : 

American  Traveller— Map  of  the  United  States,  showing  the  Canals  and  Rail 
Roads,  with  descriptions  of  the  same— Map  of  the  United  States,  royal  sheet, 
mounted  on  rollers— Mitchell's  Traveller's  Guide— Map  of  Maine,  New-Hampshire, 
and  Vermont— Map  of  .Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  anri  Rhode  Island— Map  of  New- 
York-Map  of  Pennsylvania,  New-Jersey,  and  Delaware— Map  of  Virginia  and 
Mar\lnnd— iMap  of  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia— Map  of  Louisiana, 
Mississippi  and  Alabama— Map  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee— Map  of  Missouri  and 
Arkntisa-— Map  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Michigan— Map  of  Wisconsin— Map 
of  Florida  ami  West  Indies— Map  of  Europe— Map  of  the  United  States— Map  of 
Pennsylvania— Map  of  Ohio-Map  of  Indiana— Map  of  Illinois— Map  of  Tennessee 
—Map  of  Kentucky— Map  of  Virginia— Map  of  South  Carolina— Map  of  Georgia- 
Map  of  Michigan— Map  of  Arkansas— Map  of  Texas— Map  of  New- Jersey— Map  of 
North  America— Map  of  South  America. 


G-^S<5 


